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Office Hours

Mon-Fri 9am-3pm

Phone: 765-778-8074

www.pendletonfirst.org

First United Methodist Church Ministries, Inc. Pendleton Campus

225 W. State Street—Pendleton

Worship: Sunday @ 9:45 a.m.

Adult, Children & Youth Sunday School: Sunday @ 11:00 a.m.

Ingalls Campus 301 N. Alfonte Street—Ingalls

Worship: Sunday @ 10:30 a.m—Sunday School @11:30

Connect—Grow—Commit—Serve April 2017

—Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the World

Inside this Issue: Church Camp— pg. 2

Church Council Notes— pg. 4

Holy Week Schedule— pg. 3

Food Pantry News— pg. 6

Monthly Calendar—pg. 8

Palm Sunday Breakfast—pg. 2

Pastor Doug’s Note—pg. 1

Pastor Dave’s Note—pg. 3

Special Events—pg. 7

Stephen Ministry— pg. 6

Uganda Mission—pg. 6

Vacation Bible School— pg. 2

Youth Illustrated—pg. 5

April Special Events: Apr. 2—Holy Communion

Apr. 5—Anita’s Fundraiser

Apr. 7—Jr High to BELIEVE @ AU

Apr. 9—Palm Sunday Breakfast

—Fundraiser for Camping Ministry

Apr. 9—Palm Sunday Worship

Apr. 9—New Members Received

—at Ingalls Campus

Apr. 13—Maundy Thursday

—at Pendleton Campus

Apr. 14—Good Friday

—at Ingalls Campus

Apr. 16—Easter Sunday

Apr. 17—Bob Evans Fundraiser

Apr. 23—Youth Sunday

Apr. 28—Father/Son Banquet

Apr. 30—Friendly Flock Sunday

Continued on page 2

Special Sundays

On the third day after He died -- the day we now celebrate as Easter Sunday -- His friends went to His grave, and found that He had risen from the dead. They saw an angel who told them, "Don't be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't here! He has been raised from the dead, just as He said it would happen."

Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday; now He offers to you

WHAT IS THE

MEANING OF

EASTER?

Easter is the day when we celebrate Jesus Christ

rising from the dead. Jesus is the Son of God and

heroically gave His life to die for our sins.

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the gift of eternal life and forgiveness of sins. This is the true story of Easter, and how it can change your life. Here are 4 principles that tell how you can receive the gift of God for your life:

1. God Loves You! The Bible says, "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" The problem is that:

2. All of us have done, said or thought things that are wrong. This is called sin, and our sins have separated us from God. The Bible says “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” God is perfect and holy, and our sins separate us from God forever. The Bible says “The wages of sin is death.” The good news is that, about 2,000 years ago:

3. God sent His only Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins. Jesus is the Son of God. He lived a sinless life and then died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. “God demonstrates His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”

Jesus rose from the dead and now He lives in heaven with God His Father. He offers us the gift of eternal life -- of living forever with Him in heaven if we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life."

God reaches out in love to you and wants you to be His child. "As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe on His name." You can choose to ask Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and come in to your life as your Lord and Savior.

4. If you want to accept Christ as Savior and turn from your sins, you can ask Him to be your Savior and Lord by praying a prayer like this: "Lord Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. Please forgive my sins and give me the gift of eternal life. I ask you in to my life and heart to be my Lord and Savior. I want to serve you always."

—From: http://www.jesusandeaster.com/

Meaning of Easter (continued from page 1)

Summer Camp

2017 The early bird deadline is

fast approaching; April 17th is the deadline to save on registration

fees. Please see Susan Barrett or Dustin Ritz for more information about Camp Adventure and

Camp Lakewood.

Palm Sunday Breakfast We will have our annual Palm Sunday breakfast on April 9th from 8:00-9:30. We will be accepting donations for our camping ministry. The breakfast will feature our sausage, biscuits, gravy and scrambled eggs!

Children's Palm Sunday All children/youth are invited to help wave palm branches on April 9th. We will meet by the choir room (a change from the past) and enter in through the side doors. The children will also sing Jesus loves me before we go downstairs for children's worship. We have been working on this song for a few months and are ready to share it with the congregation!

Vacation Bible School

Volunteer sign-ups are now available in the atrium for our 2017 VBS. Be sure to sign up for the best week of the summer. We will have a volunteer meeting on April 25th at 7:00. We will meet at my home and discuss details for this year's VBS and sample some of the fun treats.

VBS is the week of July 10th from 6:00-8:30 pm.

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Holy Week

Worship Services

The Altar is Always Open

“An altar call is a tradition in some evangelical Christian churches in which those who wish to make a

new spiritual commitment to Jesus Christ are invited to come forward publicly. It is so named because

the supplicants gather at the altar located at the front of the church building.

In the Old Testament, an altar was where sacrifices were made. So, the name "altar call" refers to a

believer "offering" themselves on an altar to God, as in Romans 12:1:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living

sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”

Most altar calls occur at the end of an evangelical address. The invitation may be referred to as an

"altar call" even if there is no actual altar present. Many preachers make use of the altar call; notable

examples include Billy Graham, Benny Hinn, Franklin Graham and Reinhard Bonnke.” (Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altar_call).

During Sunday school one morning, a few of us were bemoaning the fact that “altar calls” seem to be a

“rare event” during our United Methodist worship services. It was shortly after that a friend pointed

out to me, that: “our Altar is always open.” I realized that she was right!

We don’t need to wait for an invitation following a sermon to avail ourselves of the opportunity to

come forward and kneel at the altar. Our Altar is always open. We can feel free to come and kneel

before God at any point during the worship service and present him with; our struggles, our prayers,

our petitions, and make a fresh commitment to Jesus Christ. This is especially appropriate during our

time of “Congregational Prayer.” I have been impressed by the fact that: as one or two come forward

to pray at the altar, they are invariably joined by others who come to comfort and support them.

The Apostle Paul encouraged us to: “Bear each other’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

It is wonderful to be part of a community of faith which lives out this admonition so faithfully,

and a church community in which “our altar is always open.”

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First United Methodist Church Ministries

Pendleton and Ingalls Church Council Agenda

March 8, 2017

Attendance: Greg Kaster, Kelsey Maddox, Sunni Manges, Jim McFarland, Jen Roberts, Randy Rosenkrans,

Doug Walker, Jack Wilson, David Ashmore, Kyle Hupfer , Donna Wood.

7:00 Devotions (5 Min.) Given by Greg Kaster

Acceptance of (10 min.)

Minutes/ Happenings: Approved

Reports sent (possible list): Finance; Trustees/ Facilities; SPRC; CONNECT/ Evangelism; GROW/

Education; COMMIT/ Worship; SERVE/ Missions: Approved

Old Items

Mortgage extension was signed. It extends our term to ten years and saves $19,716.00 per year. The

reasons to do this were discussed:

1. It allows us to pay our tithe to the Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.

2. It helps us with cash flow.

3. The new payment is more in line with what the lower end of the expected annual receipts.

4. We can still accelerate the payments for an earlier pay off.

5. It allows us more flexibility with our cash.

Update on Electronic Giving – Vanco app is now available and is posted on our website. Pastor

Doug has asked some members to try the phone app to get their opinion on how user friendly it

is before it is announced to the entire congregation. It is on the website now and can be used by

anyone now.

New & Better Vision for the Church

Sanctuary Update: Phase 1 will begin the week of March 20th which includes painting the

front Chancel area and putting up drywall to create two screens on the side.

Facilities Update: Jen & Kelsey presented to congregation areas of the church that needs to

be updated and de-cluttered. Sign up sheets were placed in the Atrium for people to

help with this project. March 26th is the date of the project. Sarah Davis, a local

designer will visit our church on Thursday to give us ideas on how we can update rooms

at a minimal cost.

PlayScape- Ball State Landscaping Architectural Class has assigned us to students to give us

some ideas on updating our playground area. Ryan Coyle will also have some input.

Website: Jen & Kelsey continue to work with Solutions4EBiz to update our website.

Amy Marshall from Solutions4ebiz came to the church to train the staff on how to use the

new calendar program used on our website.

New Items

Exercise was done on how the Council prioritizes the duties of the Pastor. Duties listed on that

Continued on page 5

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Another Jr.-Sr. High youth ministry that meets at Pendleton First is 4:12, the name coming from the

scripture 1 Timothy 4:12. This group met on Wednesday evenings, from 6 p.m.-8 p.m.

Blessings, Dustin

Of course the month of March means that Spring is finally upon us. March

also means Spring Break for most of our students. Usually, but not all the

time, when students are off of school for a break, we do not have youth. So,

having said that, the month of March was not as busy in the Pendleton

Youth Ministry as it usually is.

Our Jr. and Sr. High Youth meet every Sunday night from 5:30-7:30. This group is called “CREW” which

stands for Creating Real Encouraging Witnesses. We focus on “stretching” the faith of our students at CREW,

and team with God to help them develop into the leaders for Christ that they were created to be. On Sunday March

5th, we had about 15 students come out to CREW. For the past several months we have done a series called “God

is in your story” and have had a few students and adults share their stories and how God has impacted their lives.

One of our awesome adult leaders, Cherie Reeves, shared her story how God is placed people in her life that have

led her to a stronger relationship with Christ. The students and adults all enjoyed listening to Cherie’s amazing

testimony. CREW will meet every Sunday, except Easter, during April..

On Sunday night March 5th, our pre-teen youth ministry called Impact met from 4-5:30 p.m. The

students had a blast playing the once popular game show “Minute to Win it” Tournament. Impact

meets the 1st and 3rd Sunday’s of every month.

Preaching, Administration, Planning, Enabling, Community Service, Visit hospitals and homebound,

Denominational work, Personal Growth, Counseling, Visit House to House, Teaching, Visit Businesses &

Homes, Visit Disgruntled members, Evangelizing, Public Speaking, and Encouraging.

FYI: Upcoming Events

Present Preaching/Teaching curriculum: Journey through Israel

Easter: Apr 16

8:30 Adjourn Next Regular Meeting: Wednesday, April 12th, 2017 at 7:00 PM (2nd Wed of each month)

Devotion sign up: Jan Doug Feb Jack Mar Greg

Apr Jen May David Jun Sunni

Jul Randy Aug ____ Sep Donna

Oct Kelsey Nov Jim Dec ______

Meeting was adjourned at 8:45pm.

Respectively, Donna Wood

Church Council (continued from page 4)

exercise include the following:

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UPDATES ON OUR YOUTH

PROGRAMS AT PENDLETON FIRST

UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

Come Serve With Us John 13:35

Thank you for your support! Here is an updated list of foods we need. Please go

by the FIRST letter of your LAST name to learn

your suggested monthly donation.

A & B Canned soups

C & D Canned beans/tomatoes

E & F & G Cereal & Oatmeal

H & I Canned or Box meals

J & K & L Pasta & Pasta Sauce

M Potato sides

N & O & P Pancake mix & syrup

Q & R Cornbread & muffin mix

S Rice mixes/dry beans

T & U Canned meats/tuna

V & W Peanut butter & jelly X & Y & Z Canned or dried fruit

Beginning in April, we are also providing

personal hygiene and basic cleaning items

through the food pantry. We are calling this

section of our pantry “Project Suds.” Each

household will be provided 8 items of their

choice over the course of 3 months. If you feel

moved to contribute these items, we would

appreciate shampoo, conditioner, body wash,

toilet paper, facial tissues, bar soap, feminine

hygiene items, spray cleaner, dish detergent,

pump hand soap, toothpaste & toothbrushes.

Thank you!

By this all men will know that

you are my disciples...

Stephen Ministry

Does the Joy of Easter Seem Far Away?

For those who have suffered a loss or who

are going through a difficult time, Easter can

be a time of painful loneliness and

emptiness.

If you are smiling on the outside but full of

pain on the inside, and the joy of Easter

seems far away, help is available. Our

Stephen Ministers are ready to provide

confidential, one-to-one Christian care. They

will listen, care, encourage, and pray with

and for you.

Stephen Ministers have been specially

trained to meet your emotional and spiritual

needs; male Stephen Ministers are always

matched with men, and female Stephen

Ministers are matched with women. I

f you or someone you know is hurting, find

out more about Stephen Ministry by talking

with one of our Stephen Leaders: Jeanne

Custer, Tammy McKean, Dick Smith, Pastor

Dave Ashmore or Pastor Doug. Walker.

Our Stephen Ministers

are there to care!

Dear Pendleton First Family,

During times like these, we realize how

much our friends and relatives really mean to

us…. Your expression of sympathy will always be

remembered. Thank you so much for the beautiful

wind chimes. Whenever we hear them, what a

wonderful way to think about Dad, as well as the

kind and caring friends we have in our lives.

With Gratitude, Liz & Randy Farmer

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This will be the final copy of the Lighthouse, published by First UMC Ministries; to receive future e-mails, please contact the church office.