Meet Matthew Jenkins When I was younger, my older brother said to me, “music is a spirit”. I never really quite knew what that meant, but after leading wor-ship for over 10 years, I get it. I believe that music with the help of the Holy Spirt has the power to shift atmospheres, change lives, and lift spirits. My desire is to see people’s mourn-ing turn into dancing and their sorrow into joy through the gift of music that the Lord has giv-en to the world.

My name is Matthew K. Jenkins and I am newly hired at Bethany as the Minister of Contemporary Music and Creative Arts. My wife Crystal and I have been married for 4 years and we are the parents to five won-derful children Jerry, Mattelynn, Matteson, and my niece and nephew Jordan and Liam. I am an avid Cleveland Browns fan, and I root for the home team in basketball, the Washington Wizards. I have been in min-istry for as long as I can remember. As the old adage says, “I was born on the front pew”. However, being in church can sometimes feel like you may be missing all the fun. As I got older, I began to search for what I thought I was missing. For a few years, I ran away from the weighty call that was placed in me from a very early age. Thankful to God he never let me stray too far and I began to submit my life to him all the more. It was not until then that I saw the power of God work in my ministry like I had never experienced before. And being blessed with this opportunity is extended proof of God’s faithfulness. I am so excited about what God is doing at Bethany that will seep into all of Howard County; I now have the privilege of being a part of it. I hope that through music and arts I can assist in furthering the vision that God has for this church. At our Easter Eggstravaganza, I had the pleas-ure of meeting families in this community; people of all ages and differ-ent backgrounds, which I love. With different age groups come different eras of music and with different ethnic backgrounds comes different forms of art. I want to help create an avenue for people to express them-selves and the gifts given to them by God. This will produce an environ-ment where people can experience His presence through worship, song and arts. “…be filled with the spirit; speaking to yourself in psalms hymns and spiritual songs” (Ephesians 5:18-19). Con’t. page 2 Go to

www.bethanyum.org for more news, upcoming

events and ways to serve at Bethany United

Methodist Church.

Stories and Ideas are Needed

Please contact me with sto-ries about what is happen-ing at Bethany or sugges-tions for the newsletter.

carmencarpenter@verizon.net

God Together In song Belonging In G.I.F.T. groups Kids Love As a church family 135 years as Bethany

UMC

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Con’t. from page 1 This church has a rich history and recently celebrated one hundred and thirty plus years of ministry and is still very relevant in today’s time serv-ing the community weekly. Bethany is truly a great place to worship and I want to take this time to say thank you for such a warm and hearty wel-come. Matthew

Celebrate Life

In November, 2018, my wife and I moved into the Charlestown Retire-ment Community in Catonsville, Maryland. For the first time in my life I was living in a community of senior citizens, many of them using walk-ers, canes, or battery-powered carts to get around. This took some getting used to, since previous neighbors were mixed in ages, some with young children, energetic, sometimes loud, playful, and a delight to have in the neighborhood. Could I be flexible to find joy and meaning in this new setting? That was one of my challenges. Some years ago, the church I was pastoring had its annual church picnic. Our youth group was in a volleyball league with other area youth groups. They challenged some of us adults to a volleyball game. As we were pre-paring for the game one of the youth said to another person, “Yea, we are going to play the old geezers.” Having an inquiring mind, I went over to him and asked him, “How old do you have to be to be an old geezer?” He responded, “Anyone over 30 is an old geezer.” By that definition, most of that youth group would now be in geezerdom. Age is relative. For that young man, and many other teens, 30 likely seems very old. But here at Charlestown I, at 77, am one of the “young ones.” It’s a funny thing about age. When we are twelve/thirteen and someone says that we look like we are sixteen or seventeen, we are de-lighted, proud to look older than we are and consider it a compliment. But at the other end of life some of us guard our age as if it were an im-portant government secret. A caution in this regard, if you ever ask a sen-ior citizen, “How old are you?” the response may be, “How old do you think I am?” That is a trap you better avoid like the plague. There was a statement posted on the shelf outside the door of one of our resident apartments recently that caught my attention. It read, “Age is a state of mind – do not regret growing old – it is a privilege denied many.”

My hope is that the Bethany church family, can celebrate each person, at whatever age he/she may be, and share the rich gifts that each brings. We need each other, the energy, creativity, and inquisitiveness of the children and youth, the experience, wisdom, and flexibility of the adults. A thoughtful quote from William Sloan Coffin’s Credo: While Abraham lived through “summer’s parching heat,” Jesus died young; but didn’t both show us that it is by its content rather than by its duration that a life-time is measured?” Celebrate your life, at whatever age, and celebrate our life together as a church family, giving thanks to God the giver and sustainer of both. Amen! Don Burgard

Bethany UMC Children’s & Family Ministry

Sunday Fun Director Bethany UMC is a growing church in Ellicott City, MD. We will soon be launching a 4th Sunday morning ser-vice and a second children’s faith development program. We are searching for a director for this sec-ond children’s faith development pro-gram, which we call Sunday Fun. This is a year-round 3 hour/week position; the schedule is 10am-1pm on Sundays. The Director will be responsible for working with the Children’s & Family Ministry Pastor to coordinate the leader sched-ules, resource the leaders with materi-als which are prepared by a volunteer team during the week, help transition the Sunday Fun environments be-tween the first and second Sunday Fun programs, and serve as a leader when needed. Ideal candidates will love Jesus, love children and possess good organizational and interpersonal skills. Please contact Pastor Cathy Vitek for more information or to ap-ply. (cathy@bethanyum.org or 410-465-2919.)

If life is considered a gift of God, and we are created in God’s image, as Genesis 1 reminds us, then we need to celebrate all the years we are privileged to enjoy. We

also need to be the best stewards of our years, also a part of being created in the image of God.

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Bethany is active in local, regional and international missions both with the United Methodist Church but also other organizations. There are so many opportunities—why not join with others in our community? Start by

clicking: http://www.bethanyum.org/ministries/service-and-mission/ The church office can also provide information.

It has been a busy year at Bethany for Mission Service. We are so grateful for the many volunteers who support various programs. Thanks to everyone who assisted with:

Maryland Food Bank Warehouse Ministry Fairs

Prison Campership Registration Camp Manidokan Work Day

Read Across America Grassroots Soup ‘R Sundae

UMCOR Disaster Relief Kits College and Military Care Packaging

Operation Gratitude Letters Prison Ministry Repurpose & Recycle Drive

Good News Jail Book & Bible Donations Mission Continues

During the month of May, we will be supporting Leveling the Playing Field by collecting used sports equipment. Janice Goodwin has agreed to serve as chair for this activity and will have collection areas in Fellowship Hall throughout May. Leveling the Playing Field gives underprivileged children the opportunity to enjoy the mental and physical benefits of youth sports participation. They do this through the donation of used and excess sporting equipment to programs and schools serving low-income communities. Our donations allow programs to allocate funds saved by lowering registra-tion fees, expanding their scholarship programs, enhancing their existing athletic program and/or developing new ones. You can find more information at http://www.levelingtheplayingfield.org/baltimore.

Mark your Calendar! On June 1st, we will be going to First Fruits Harvest from 8:30 am to 11:30 am. Su-san Boyd is chairing this event and we are looking for 15 volunteers to join us to glean the fields. This is a family friendly event! First Fruits Farm is a non-profit Christian ministry dedicated to providing fresh, nutritious produce to those experienc-ing hunger in the Mid-Atlantic region. Since 2004, thousands of area volunteers have helped harvest over 14.6 million pounds of fruits and vegetables to share with local food banks, homeless shelters, soup kitchens and other food provid-ers. More information is available at https://www.firstfruitsfarm.org/.

Mark your Calendar! June 20-27 is Mission Continues Operation Charm City. Bethany will be supporting our partner and the many Veterans who will be joining the Mission Continues to revitalize five Baltimore neighbors. More details coming soon, but in the meantime, you can see the projects at https://missioncontinues.org/deployments/.

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On April 28, 2019 we welcomed and celebrated Bethany’s newest members! Many thanks to Karinne and Pete Cross-land, Sori Meredith and their Reception Team for providing a very special time for greeting between the 8:55 and 11:00 a.m. worship gatherings! Welcome new members! These friends joined the Bethany family on April 28th and usually gather for worship at 8:55a.m.

Diana Chen is joining the Bethany family from Woodbrook Baptist Church in Towson. She and her husband, Denny, love spending time with their family … our son, Mark and his wife, Yin Ching, and three awesome teen granddaughters: Erica, Grace and Kaitlyn and also our son, Matt, and his wife, Jackie. I would love for you to bring a tennis racquet and let’s get on the court sometime or come on over and enjoy my peony gardens. I am so excited and looking forward to discovering Bethany’s G.I.F.T. Groups and being on the Together for God ... Celebrate ... Serve ... Grow ... journey with my new Bethany family. Uma and Sonny Dua moved to Howard County from Atlanta, GA in July 2017. Previously they were members of Marietta First United Methodist Church. They have two young boys, Mitchell (middle school) and Tyler (elementary). Uma is a pharmacist by trade, and an avid cook who enjoys traveling. Outside of work, studies, and spending time with family. Sonny is actively involved as a youth lacrosse coach for his sons’ teams. Uma and Sonny feel like Bethany is the right fit with its di-verse and inclusive culture. Alberta Dwivedi has lived in Ellicott City since 1999 and until July 2018, lived directly across the street from Paul and Patty Rau, my good friends and BUMC members. In July 2018, I downsized and moved into the 55+ community in Waverly Woods. I retired from the Centers for Medicare and Medi-caid Services in July 2010, where I had worked as a Medicare Regulations Coordinator. I have two grown children, Craig and Ajmer. Ajmer and his wife, Emily, have gifted me with the “love of my life”, Miles, my beautiful grandson. I enjoy and look forward to visiting Myrtle Beach later this sum-mer. I love music and am an avid supporter of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra where I attend sev-eral concerts per season. I also love animals, especially dogs, and German Shepherds in particular. My other loves include, singing, relaxing with a good book, playing bocce, working on my computer, exer-cising and walking to upbeat music. I look forward to being a member of Bethany United Methodist Church and be-coming a part of the music ministry. Emily and Ben Greenspon moved to Ellicott City in 2016. They have a one-year-old son named Emmett. They decided on Bethany UMC because they love the family atmosphere and sense of com-munity they get from the members of the church. Emily is a pharmacist who also enjoys health and fit-ness and Ben is an electrical engineer who enjoys woodworking as a hobby. They look forward to meet-ing new friends.

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Suzy Manglani moved to Ellicott City from Owings Mills, having moved to the U.S. about 18 years ago from India. I love what the children's ministry Bethany has to offer to my children, Ariyana (12) and Ashwin (9). I also find that my core values are similar to that of the Methodist Church. I enjoy being a part of this church and all the activities here. I have been blessed to be a part of this church family for the last 8 years and am active in my Monday G.I.F.T. GROUP Jennifer Smallidge moved to Ellicott City in August of 2017 from Prince William County, Virginia. Jennifer grew up in Massachusetts and is an avid fan of all New England sports teams. Her three children, ages 11, 13, and 15 keep her plenty busy with their sports and Scouts and various extracurricular activities! She actively volunteers in all their involvements. In January, she began a long-term-substitute para-educator position that will continue to the end of the school year. Next Fall, she hopes to join the Howard County Public School system in a more permanent posi-tion. She’s a beginner runner (it’s never too late to start, right?) and when possible, enjoys trying new recipes in the kitchen.

Jill and Cheryl VanKuren Jill and Cheryl VanKuren and their two sons Nathan (14), Alexander (8) and golden doodle Tulip (5) are joining us from Camp Chaple UMC in Perry Hall Maryland. They moved to West Friendship in 2018 in search of a warm and welcoming community, strong schools and open space for their family to play. They enjoy music, board games, gardening, sports and outdoor activities of all kinds. The VanKurens attend the 8:55 service are big fans of pastor Cathy’s Sunday fun program and the wild ride of confirmation class with Pastor Tim Jones. These friends joined the Bethany family on April 28th and usually gather for worship at 11:00 a.m.

Kim and Darius Bahktiar moved to Ellicott City in 2001 and later to Clarksville in 2010. They are transfer-ring from Catonsville United Methodist. The Bakhtiars have two children, Leah, age 15 and Nick, age 14 who are both involved in Bethany's youth group. Darius is self employed in financial services and Kim currently works as a stay-at-home mom after 13 years of teaching in Baltimore County. Kim and Darius enjoy skiing, traveling and cook-ing as a family, as well as supporting Leah and Nick in their athletic endeavors and performing arts. Leah and Nick's experience with Pastor Tim Jones is what drew Kim and Darius to Bethany United Methodist, and they are looking forward to getting to know everyone!

Shelli Bond has lived in Ellicott City for about a year, commutes to College Park to study Mechanical Engineer-ing, and hopes to work in the field of wind and solar energy. She first visited Bethany in February. Thank you Bethany for sharing nothing but love to me! I grew up in a Christian household, but was not part of a church community. I found I didn’t have much to hold on to as I began asking hard questions as a young adult. I abandoned faith. Years later, I began praying for God to find me again, and in January, someone told me for the first time in years that God loves me! I've been looking for this church home ever since. I look forward to sharing my faith journey with many of you and am in a G.I.F.T. Group already. I still have hard questions, but I find joy in asking them, and a beauty in not knowing the answers. I’ve chosen to lean into faith rather than let uncertainty hinder the openness of my spirit.

Jennifer McManus and her daughter, Jordyn, live in Columbia, Maryland. Jen grew up in Howard Coun-ty and graduated from Centennial High School in 1994. Jen started her religious journey as a Catholic and was a mem-ber of the Church of Resurrection in Ellicott City. Jen was looking for a church community where both she and Jordyn would feel welcomed and be able to continue to grow in their Christian faith. They found that last summer when they visited Bethany for the first time! Jordyn really enjoys the Sunday Fun and is looking forward to possi-bly joining one of the children's choirs. Jen has been playing with the Bethany Belles since September and she is looking forward to continuing in the coming year and also joining a G.I.F.T. group soon! Jen and Jordyn are both really excited to become members of Bethany and continue to build more relationships in this church community.

Also, you may view our new family members’ photos on the bulletin board near the elevator! The next ConneXionPointe! Class for folks considering connecting with Bethany in membership will be held in October 2019 (date TBD) and New Members will be received in November 2019 (date TBD) -- if you are in-terested or have questions, please contact: Tim Ferrell: timferrell@comcast.net or (410)404-1670)

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Spring has traditionally been the time of year when Bethany’s choirs begin to wind down for another year. Therefore, I’d like to take this opportunity to personally thank not only an exceptional music staff – Chancel Choir Director, Chris Hettenbach; Youth Choir Director, Julie Saitta; Carol Choir Director, Sally Marshall; and Cherub Choir Director, Kirsten Earp – but ALL of Bethany’s musicians, vocalists and instrumentalists alike, for all your dedication and commitment throughout the year.

In addition, I’d like to especially acknowledge the following volunteers for gra-ciously sharing their time and talent during the 8:00 AM service this past year. The amount of talent at Bethany never ceases to amaze me! Susan Ricker

Vocalists Instrumentalists Carolyn Thompson Abi Cooney, flute & oboe Kelly Maclean Michele Dorsey, violin Tish Brewster Meg Glenn, violin Ceanna Cooney Chelsea Finnegan, French horn Kelly Cooney Isabelle Bryden, trombone Jane Albert Al Ingalls, trumpet Jennifer Nazaire Ryan Saitta, trumpet Troy Osten Dianne Nicodemus, handbells Jennifer Finnegan Deb Cooley, handbells Bryan Roberts Brenda Horst, handbells Richard Walton Paula Schultz, handbells Cathy Vitek Rosemary Noble, handbells Pastor Brenda Joanne O’Hern, handbells Olivia Merryman Judy Barnett, handbells Amy Reiss Peter Dinsmore, handbells Emily Saitta Amy Bahel, clarinet Abby Saitta Ellie Whittenberger, piano Julie Saitta Amy Reiss, piano Pete Christensen Tom Sankey, piano Mark Dubbs, Sr., piano

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Finally, finally, finally! I am seeing green…green shoots of grass are appearing on our front lawn, green leaves of daffodils, day lilies and iris. Or they might be weeds. But it’s GREEN! My soul is singing to see new growth come out of winter browns and grays, no matter what kind of plant life the green belongs to. The trees are getting ready to burst open. Pollen is all over my car and it makes me smile. Even the birds seem to be so happy as they chirp their way through the morning. This is one of the things I love most about Spring, the daily re-minders of new life. The only thing I love more about Spring is Easter. Easter is the real message about new life, right? Jesus lived his whole life for God and for others, teaching about God’s love, healing the people society had cast away, embracing sin-ners the religious system of the day deemed unclean, describing his Heavenly Father (our Heavenly Father) as one who loves with reckless abandon and waits, watching, for all His chil-dren to come home to Him. Beautiful. But also a severe threat to the Jewish religious leaders because Jesus and his message were so vastly contradictory to everything they understood, everything they expected and everything they held dear. And so they plotted to have Jesus killed. And this beautiful person, the one who lived his whole life for God and for others, who recruited others in that mission, was arrested, tortured and hung on a cross to die. And if I pause right there at the cross at the moment Jesus died and his body is taken down from the cross, and imagine myself in the place of those who followed him, those who loved him, those who had believed in him, it takes my breath away. It is hard for us to imagine because we know how the story ends, but they did not. They only knew that moment. The deepest kind of dark night with no dawn on the horizon. Sometimes our lives can feel that way. Any kind of loss…the loss of relationship, the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, the loss of a dream, even the loss of something expected can feel so dark and heavy. Even to our kids. That’s why I especially love our K-5th grade Life App for this month. We are learning about HOPE. We say that Hope is believing that something good can come out of something bad. We are learning “Whatever happens, remember how powerful God is” (from the story of Jesus raising Lazarus, John 11:1-45); “Whatever happens, remember God always keeps His promis-es (from the Palm Sunday story, John 12:9-16); “Whatever happens, remember Jesus is alive” (The Resurrection story, John 18:1-20:18) ; And “whatever happens, remember God is bigger than your questions (from the story of Doubting Thomas, John 20:19-29). I think it’s so important for our children to learn while they are young that no matter how difficult the current circumstances, God brings beauty out of ashes, light out of darkness and life out of death. Our faith informs us that this is true because of God’s power shown to us in Jesus. And the earlier we can internalize trust that God can bring something good out of something bad, the more practice we have trusting God in the midst of difficult situations, the easier time we have trusting that the “bad thing” we are going through now is not the end of the story...God brings new life in ways we can’t even imagine. Like new life appearing when and where we least expect it. Christ is RISEN! He is risen, indeed!

Check out our upcoming kids and family events at www.bethanyum.org

Summer VBS is August 12-16

For more information check out the church website: www.bethanyum.org

Sunday Worship Times – 8 a.m., Chapel; 8:55 a.m. & 11 a.m., Main Sanctuary; Rev. Andrew Cooney, Sr. Pastor Rev. Brenda Lewis, Associate Pastor

May 2019

Recurring on Sundays 8, 8:55 & 11 AM—BUMC worship 9:00 AM—925 Youth (Middle School) 9:30 AM—Sunday Fun (preschool - 5th grade) 10:15 AM—Youth Choir Rehearsal 10:30 AM—Carol Choir Rehearsal 10:30 AM—Cherub Choir Rehearsal 11 AM—Sunday Morning High Schoolers 11:30 AM—Sunday Fun 5:30-8:30 PM— Youth Sunday Nights (Chapel)

Special Events in May 5/5, Worship Arts Sunday 4/7 Communion 5/10, Friday Family Fun night 5/11, 10-12 Rise Against Hunger 5/12 Mother’s Day 5/19 NEW Worship service at 10:30 5/19 Communion 5/19 Bit O’ Bethany 5/19 Stewardship 5/19 Celebrate Grads 5/27 Memorial Day—BUMC offices

closed 5/28, 7am-8pm Bethany Travelers bus trip

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Bethany United Methodist Church 2875 Bethany Lane

Ellicott City, MD 21042

Address Correction Requested

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID ELLICOTT CITY, MD

PERMIT NO. 60

For an up-to-date listing of all activities at BUMC, please check out

www.bethanyum.org