University United Methodist Church

2818 N. University

Peoria, IL 61604

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The Link

Non-Profit Org U.S.

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Peoria, IL

Permit NO. 650

Reaching out and welcoming all people to the love of God and Jesus Christ as we worship together and grow in faith.

MAILING LABEL

May 7, 2018 Dear Church Family,

The hearts of our church members were warmed in a powerful way during our church

service on April 29, when our own Dr. Ralph Nelson received recognition from our District

Superintendent and others connected with our conference office.

The Torch Award is presented to one or two recipients per

year by the Illinois Great Rivers Conference, to people who’ve given

years of service to scouting programs and to the local church. Ralph

Nelson has done both of those things since the 1950s. He was

recognized by DS Rev. Mary Kathryn Pearce and by Jeff Thornton,

Conference President of the United Methodist Men.

“Scouting gets in your blood,” Ralph said, when I asked him

about his long history of service. “You meet some awfully nice

people.” One of those folks is Peoria resident Ray Gessel, now 100

years old, a past recipient of The Torch Award.

On one occasion, the two men reached deep into their own

pockets when area scouting programs had fallen on hard times.

Both men gave $1,000 to keep programs afloat. There were also

periods when Ralph mowed the yard at the scouting office, rather

than pay a lawn service.

With a shake of the head and good-natured smile, wife Juanita remembers: “We hired

someone to mow at our house, so that Ralph could go down there and mow for free!”

(continued on p. 2)

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The scouting “bug” was shared with Ralph’s family. Juanita served as a den mother.

Two sons went on to become troop leaders. Three of his grandsons are Eagle Scouts. The

fence that runs behind the church, along the south boundary line, was an Eagle Scout pro-

ject of one of Ralph’s grandsons.

Ralph’s service to scouting (and to our church) began when he and Juanita moved

their family to Peoria in 1957. Given the high number of kids who participated in scouting

in the 1950s and 1960s, it’s a very conservative estimate to say that Ralph’s involvement

in scouting impacted well over 1,000 lives. His Christian service was not limited to scout-

ing. In our church, he served as Sunday school teacher and superintendent, Chairman of

the Administrative Board, Chairman of the Building and Grounds Committee, Lay Leader

and he was a long-time member of the Board of Trustees. He also shared the fruits of his

highly successful dental practice with area school children, providing free dental care to

kids in need for many years.

There are lessons about Christian service to be gleaned from this happy story.

1) The deeper we delve into using our gifts, the more rewarding our service is likely to be.

2) Serving with others in the Body of Christ leads to some of our most meaningful rela-

tionships. 3) Those who serve with great effectiveness often have wonderfully supportive

spouses and/or supporting casts. 4) A willingness to provide time and sweat equity in ser-

vice is more important than specific skill sets. 5) Those who are faithful to a powerful gift

for service are usually not one-trick ponies. They typically serve in more than one venue

and in a variety of ways.

Ralph’s particular service to scouting made a powerful impact on me. Mary and I

have a nephew, Eli, who recently received the designation of Eagle Scout. When I think

about the impact that scouting has had on Eli’s life—

his ethics, confidence, maturity and his prospects for

future success—I am so thankful for him, and for the

Troop Leader and others who helped him along the

way. And then when I think about Ralph Nelson and

the countless lives he has touched in similar fashion, I

am amazed. And finally, I am reminded that there

are others in our church that serve in different capaci-

ties, who also deserve great affirmation, and I am

once again reminded of the honor it is to serve a

congregation of such remarkable folks.

Until just a few years ago, Ralph could often be

seen raking leaves, fertilizing the church yard and/or

generally working circles around much younger

people. Ralph’s health and eyesight have now

curtailed his activities, but I still rely on him when I

have questions about the grounds around our church

building. And I know that his faithful Christian wit-

ness will have great significance in the legacy of our

church for years to come.

Blessings in Christ, Paul

Newsletter Mailing Date: The June LINK will be mailed on Friday, June 1. All articles are due by Monday of that week.

Thank you!

OFFERINGSOFFERINGS

APRIL General Fund

1 $10,494.00

8 $8,094.00

15 $17,713.00

22 $3,102.00

29 $3,661.00

Total $43,064.00

GARRETT-EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL

SEMINARY

Annual Conference session is fast approaching for

the United Methodist Church is fast approaching, and

Garrett-Evangelical will be at the Illinois Great Rivers

Conference! If you’re at the conference, stop by and say

hello!

On another matter, we have often heard from friends

of the seminary who are looking to learn and practice

mission-based leadership skills. As a result, Garrett-

Evangelical has teamed up with the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, the Northern Illinois Conference of the UMC, and

the fourth Episcopal District of the AME to create Freedom’s Journey, and five-day community organizing

workshop to be held June 18-22. If you have an interest,

you can register today! Just go online at Garrett.edu.

We’re excited about the Garrett-Evangelical 161st

commencement, which is imminent. Stay tuned for our graduation report; clearly God is at work among our

students as they prepare to enter the fields of pastoral

care, education, music ministry and social work!

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Rev. Paul Arnold, Directing Pastor

E-mail: peoriauumc@sbcglobal.net

www.uumcpeoria.org 688-3486 Fax 688-4576

Worship & Sunday School Times

Sunday Service: 10:00 am

Children’s Sunday School: 10:00 am

Deep Thinkers Class: 8:30 am

News & Upcoming Events

The UMW Reading Program Books are here! It's easy to be a part of the UMW reading program- Plan 1 allows you to read just 5 books per year (one from each category). Books can be checked out from the UMW section of the church library, located in Memorial Hall.

Scriptural Base for Reading Program: Proverbs 8:11 – The Gifts of Wisdom “ … for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.”

Book List

Education for Mission

Without You, There is No Us: Undercover Among the Sons of North Korea's Elite

A House in the Sky: A Memoir

Leadership Development

Feathered

The Sacred Secular: How God is Using the World to Shape the Church

Nurturing for Community

Detained and Deported: Stories of Immigrant Families Under Fire

On Pluto: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer's

Good Health, Good Life: 12 Keys to Enjoying Physical and Spiritual Wellness

Three Feathers

Social Action

America's Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America

Hospitable Planet: Faith, Action, and Climate Change

Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools

One Well: The Story of Water on Earth

Spiritual Growth

Tattered and Mended: The Art of Healing the Wounded Soul

Pray and Color: A Coloring Book and Guide to Prayer

Bus to Corinth

Book of the Month

On Pluto: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer's

Greg O’Brien, an award-winning investigative reporter, has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's and is one of those faceless numbers. Acting on long-term memory and skill coupled with well-developed journalistic grit, O’Brien decided to tackle the disease and his imminent decline by writing frankly about the journey. O’Brien is a master storyteller. His story is naked, wrenching, and soul searching for a generation and their loved ones about to cross the threshold of this death in slow motion. On Pluto: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer’s is a trail-blazing roadmap for a generation—both a “how to” for fighting a disease, and a “how not” to give up!

PURPOSE OF UNITED METHODIST WOMEN

The organized unit of the United Methodist Women shall be a community of women whose purpose is to know God and to experi-ence freedom as whole persons through Jesus Christ; to develop a creative, supportive fellowship; and to expand concepts of mission through participation in the global ministries of the church.

UMW MEMBERSHIP IS OPEN

We would like to extend an invitation to all women of our church to join a circle. For the Ruth Circle contact Linda Hahn and for the

Priscilla Circle contact Sherry Emerick or Joanne Barnwell.

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MAY

MAY Anniversaries

Wes & Roberta Foster

Charlie & Susie Brown

Art & Jane Bell

Katlyn & Seth Woodard

Kim Wolpert, who became a member

of UUMC April 8.

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A draft of the 2018 Farm Bill has just been released, and it is very

bad news for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

(SNAP) which helped 41 million Americans put food on their tables

and protected 8.4 million from poverty. More than 4/5 of SNAP

benefit dollars go to households that have a single bread winner

with a child, a senior or a disabled person or all three. These benefits have an

enormous positive effect on children’s health, educational attainment and fu-

ture employment outcomes. The bill, as proposed, strips critical food assistance

from unemployed and underemployed workers. It dramatically curtails the

state’s ability to give assistance under certain eligibility categories. Thus, mak-

ing SNAP more difficult and more costly for states to administer. This is espe-

cially unfortunate coming on the heels of the congressional passage of a large,

unpaid tax cut for millionaires and corporations. Red tape and bureaucracy of

some new regulations means many SNAP-eligible workers will lose their SNAP

benefits. There are specific consequences to cutting SNAP funding to lower

income American families. THIS IS THE TIME TO CALL, WRITE or E-MAIL

SENATORS DURBIN AND DUCKWORTH AND REPRESENTATIVES LAHOOD OR

BUSTOS. Their contact information will be available at church on the table in the

narthex. Your action can make a big difference in millions of lives. This is an

easy way to carry out Matt. 25:35-40.

On April 8th, our church served the noon meal at Neighborhood House. We served ham, augratin potatoes, green beans, peaches and brownies. I want to thank everyone who helped with this mission. Sherry Emerick helped out in the kitchen at church. Alison Pendergast, Tara Agama, Gary Millen, Steve and Judy Van Winkle, Keith and Cari Borland and Pastor Paul Arnold all went down to Neighborhood House and served the meal. This is a wonderful mission of outreach to feed those in need in our community. Let me know if you would like to help in July when we will be doing this in July.

Renee Kilduski

to Andrea Molina who has

been an excellent organist/

pianist for the past four years

at UUMC and is stepping

down from her responsibili-

ties to have more time to

spend with her family. She

and her family plan to remain

active members of our church

family, however, and for that

we are truly grateful!

OUR SINCERE THANKSOUR SINCERE THANKS

The Mt Calvary Lutheran Food Pantry needs our donations. The food pantry is in

need of cereal this month.

The donation box is located by the main doors. The pantry distribution day is on the first Tuesday

o of every month.

Thanks for your

continued support

of the pantry!

June Carlson Beth Ziegele

Irene Sherman Faye Nelson

Carole Hill Bill Sprick

Jack & Betty Rhodes

From Holy Grounds Café

A huge thank you to all those who have helped get the Holy Grounds Café off the ground. We have had donuts,

cinnamon rolls, yogurt, fruit, Trefzger’s coffee cake and what appears to be the favorite of many of you – an

oatmeal bar with raisins, walnuts, almonds, brown sugar and 2% milk or half and half to top it off. Maxine and

Loretta continue to set the attractive serving table, make the coffee (or tea) and provide the orange juice.

What a joy to see their smiling faces every Sunday. We are open to your suggestions and certainly invite you to

pick a Sunday and provide your favorite treats. There is a signup sheet on the bulletin board outside the dining

room. We do like the food to be at the church by 8:00 or 8:30 AM on Sunday morning, and it can be brought in

on Saturday and placed in the refrigerator if needed. If you have questions contact either Linda Millen – 635-

2542 or Jan Deissler – 635-1872.

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From the Outreach Committee

By the time you read this Cinco de Mayo will have passed. A big thank you to all the volunteers who made the

event the success it was. More report in next month’s LINK Also, check the church Facebook page to see

pictures. You should mark the following dates on your calendars:

July 11 – Outdoor movie

July 18 – Outdoor movie

July 23-26 – Vacation Bible School

September 9 – Fall Festival

October 28 – Trunk or Treat

Thanks for volunteering to work with us on these projects. We’re beginning to see some results of our neigh-

borhood ministry thanks to your efforts.

May 13May 13