August 2018

I want to thank everyone who participated in making our

bingo nite a success to the tune of 3,000 dollars....special thanks

to Julie who made the beautiful center pieces ...thanks for all the

food and prize donations and to Steph and Wendy for calling

bingo..it was truly a fun filled nite...Barb

BUILDING COMMITTEE/

FACILITATION TEAM UPDATE

Last week Steve Johnson and Pas-tor Wilson met with representative of the Harvard Bank to discuss a pos-sible mortgage. She advised us that the maximum we could borrow would be about $36,000. We will contact a couple of other lending institutions to discuss a mortgage. We currently have about $132,000 in funds on hand or pledged which leaves with approximately $88,000 left to reach the estimated cost of the

A couple of weeks ago, I

had lunch with a friend whose wife had passed away after a lengthy

battle with cancer. After tip-toeing around the topic of her death for the first fifteen minutes or so, I asked him how he was coping. He said, “I am doing all right. I guess I just have to accept the fact that Sue’s cancer and death was God’s will. It was part of his plan for us.” I almost choked on my iced tea. It is not that I haven’t heard such an inter-pretation of a tragic event like a car accident or a shooting, or even a serious illness. It is just that each time I hear it, I want to jump up and down and stamp my feet and shout as loud as I can, “No! That is NOT the kind of a God I worship and we worship together!” However, I usually control my-self and say something like, “I don’t see God acting in that manner and maybe at sometime we can talk about it.” I was aware that my friend was in the grips of grief and needed support and comfort, not my theological correc-tion.

I have heard similar responses to mass shootings, tragic accidents, suicides and all sorts of calamities. To say that such events are part of “God’s Plan” is a pious sort of way to explain difficult or tragic circumstances. I sense it in a way, not a very good one, that some people deal with loss of control in a very unpredictable world. Assigning blame or credit to God for such event, provides a sense of rea-sonableness to them or so it seems. I guess that it comes from a misunderstanding of God’s sovereignty. This under-standing maintains that since God is sovereign everything that happens is part of his plan. When I hear such argu-

ments, I picture all of us being marionettes dancing this way and that as God pulls our strings. This is not the God I know. Nor is it the God I meet in the Bible. God is sovereign and this means that nothing contrary to God’s gracious love will triumph in the end. Sin is the source of destruction in our world. It can cause pain and suffering, tragedy and even can-cer, mass shootings and accidents. But it does not ultimately triumph.

When I was a pastor in Joliet, four of our high school students were killed when their car was rear-ended by a bus as they turned into a parking lot at Soldier Field. They were going to a concert. At a community gathering to remember and give thanks for their lives, my Presbyterian colleague told the gath-ered congregation, “Some will tell you that this tragedy was God’s Will, part of God’s Plan. I say tell them to “Go to Hell!” Our God does not kill four teen-agers who were going to a concert. That is nonsense and a contradiction the One who died on a cross that we may have life!”

How we endure pain and suffering is a mark on how much we love life. We are called to know God’s Plan as we find it in the Bible. It is a plan that brings God’s love to us in Jesus and through his life, death and resurrection, we have been given life in which death has no dominion. God in Christ does not cause suffering. God in Christ is our sustaining Presence through suffering.

Incidentally, Ray and I have had a second conversation. It was helpful to both of us.

Pastor Jim

project which is $220,000. The Bingo Night held last Saturday (July 28) was very suc-cessful, raising $3,000. A big “Thank You” is due to Barb Cheek who was the organizer of the event and all those who help with the effort. Coming fund raising attractions are the Hebron Garage Sale in August, a minia-ture golf tournament in September and then the “Event in the Park” on October 13 includ-ing a pig roast, “corn hole tournament,” and music by several church groups. Mark your calendars for this event!

$132,258

BINGO JULY 28, 2018

Barb Cheek (to left)

Well done!

Checking out prizes to

R & the auction items

below left.

The Village of Hebron

has taken over sponsoring

the Hebron Area Garage

Sale Day, August 11th

from 9 - 3. We will be of-

fering on that day cookies, brownies and Rice Krispies

treats for sale as we have done in the past at our

church. We’re looking for volunteers to bake, set up,

sell our goodies, and clean up. All of the proceeds

from this will go toward the Sanctuary Fund. This is a

great time for us to talk with visitors about our town,

tell them what we, as Methodists, are all about and to

notify everyone of our upcoming events.

Rally Day will be September 2nd. Come help the chil-

dren celebrate the first day of Sunday School!

Save this date: October 13th which is our Pig Roast

in the Park. There will be live music, a Corn-Hole

Tournament, good food and fellowship, and lots of

fun. We will need participation from all of us to

make this a successful event. There will be more

information in the next newsletter and updates on

our web site.

As the words in the hymn “We are the Church”

say: I am the church! You are the church! We are

the church together. All who follow Jesus all around

the world! Yes we’re the church together.

Barb Cheek and Shirlee Correll

Co-Chairs of Nurture

Our pretty flowers on Sunday Morning, July 29th!

Thank you to those who water & care for them!

Chaylee Klemesrud is having tonsil-lectomy on 8/8 Shirlee Correll Alberta Austin & her friend Murl who

has Parkinsons & a broken hip

Gretchen Howe, who had surgery

Dave Dickey

Char Wilson & Michael Wilson; Delores & Terri Ambrozich

(cousins) battling cancer, Mary & Randy Ulery — both bat-

tling cancer

Deanna Feitshans

Roy Bailey’s cousin, Leon Rhodes who has stage 4 cancer

& his friend Dorothy Heide & Uncle Gene.

Cheri Espe

Jim Spooner, who has many health problems

Doug & Douglas

Our former Pastor Paul & Lynn

Anita Landry

Ken Kraft

LaVerne Schmarje

Helen Smith at Hearthstone, Room 411, 920 N Seminary,

Woodstock IL 60098

Terry Cheek

Luella Tibbitts

Nora Winn

Dave Moore

Betty Garrett, her daughter Holly & Doug & family & friends

of her sister June who died 8/1, her son, Bob, who had

shoulder surgery 7/31

Dorothy Peterson’s daughters Lisa & April & Amber

Sue Stear

Tom Crandall

We pray for our church, our village, our leaders, local, state

& national. We pray for our church leaders in Hebron, our

Elgin District Supt., our Bishop & in the entire UMC. We

pray for our police, fire & rescue men & women, please

keep them safe while they are protecting us! We pray for

our diplomats, representatives, service men & women all

over the world, please keep them safe. Please keep the

people & leaders of N. Korea calm. We are all called to join

in prayer for peace on the Korean Peninsula, for peace in

the hearts of our leaders, and for peace among all peoples.

We pray for the victims of the shooting violence everywhere

and for the victims of weather related disasters, storms &

flooding. The victims & survivors & their families of the

Branson boat disaster. The people in the path of the volca-

no eruptions in Hawaii, those in the paths of wildfires in Col-

orado, California, Yosemite & Greece & earthquake in Ja-

pan & please keep our schools safe! During a mental

health crisis, anyone can call the 24-hour National Suicide

Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers!

In Our

Thoughts

& Prayers

Barb & Dan Slavin in memory of Red & Jeannette Latham

William & Mildred Luallen in memory of Bruce Gethen

Ginger Katzman in memory of Ervin & Margaret Norgard

Roy Bailey in memory of Priscilla Kienzell

Jay & Jail Schwarz in memory of Martha Tibbitts & in honor of

Marge Lopeman

Curt Norgard in memory of Ervin & Margaret Norgard

Brooke Maule in honor of Helen Smith

In memory of Audrey Ellison

The following are gifts that were given in honor of or in memory of someone, not designated previously. Thank you!

We are kicking off the 2018-2019 Sunday School year with Rally Day on Sunday, September 2nd. Children of all ages are invited to gather at HUMC at 9:45 am. We will be exploring the message of “We Are One Body” through, stories, songs, games and crafts that cele-brate God’s creation of cultural unity and diversity. We will also begin our Sunday School mission on Rally Day. Our mission focus for the year will be on solidari-ty with refugees through the Church World Service campaign #greateras1. The children will be participating in the worship service on Rally Day starting at 10:30 am, which will be fol-lowed by a luncheon. If anyone would like to partici-pate in the worship service or help with Rally Day, con-tact Kate, Steph or Shirlee. All are invited to help us jump into another exciting year of HUMC Sunday School! “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave

nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all

one in Christ Jesus.” –Galatians 3:28

Stephanie Claussen & Kate Johnson,

Sunday School Teachers

August 2018

Pastor: Rev. Dr. James Wilson

Web & email newsletter: Stephanie Claussen

Printed newsletter: Kathy Dickerson

Chaylee Klemesrud 8/2

Jonathan Claussen 8/4

Stephanie Claussen 8/7

Mia Klemesrud 8/12

Juanita Bailey 8/21

Bob Claussen 8/24

Margie Moore 8/26

Denise Staten 8/26

Bill Elverman 8/28

Dr Dan Staten 8/29

Dorothy Peterson 8/29

Richard Border 8/30

Roy & Myrna Hoeft 8/20

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4

5

Morning Worship 10:30 AM

6 7 8 9 10 11

Hebron Area

Garage Sale

Day 9—3

12

Morning Worship 10:30 AM

Bldg & Fac meet after

Worship

13 14 15 16 17 18

Sit & Sew

9—3

19

Church Council meets 9

AM

Morning Worship 10:30 AM

20 21 22 23 24 25

26

Morning Worship 10:30 AM

27

Newsletter

Deadline

28 29 30 31 Sept. 1

HEBRON UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

9810 Main Street (Location)

P.O. Box 323 (Mailing address)

Hebron, IL 60034

Plan for Worship

August 5: John 6:24-35,

2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a

“Food that Endures”

August 12: John 6:35: 41-51 Romans 10:5-15

“Bread Is Life”

August 19: John 6:51-58, Ephesians 5:15-20

“A Forgotten Place?”

August 26: John 6:56-69, Ephesians 6:10-20

“Dining with Jesus”

September 2: “Rally Day”

1st Sunday of Sunday School

Join us for Morning Worship at 10:30 AM

Find us on Facebook, at www.hebronmethodist.org or

Email us at hebronunitedmethodistchurch93@gmail.com

(There is no Sunday School for the summer. It will resume on

Sept. 2)

AUGUST 2018