In Luke chapter 11 the disciples

ask Jesus to teach them how to

prayer, “Lord, teach us to pray, as

John taught his disciples.” Jesus’

response was what we have come to

know as the Lord’s Prayer.

Every Sunday we end our con-

gregational time of prayer with:

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come,

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.

Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer teaches us more than how to pray, it teaches us how

to live. It is a daily bending of ourselves towards God who in Jesus Christ

bends so graciously towards us.

During worship in August we are going to focus on how the Lord’s

Prayer shapes us as we strive to follow Jesus Christ. How do we pray and

actually live the Lord’s Prayer?

Midway Locust Grove United Methodist Volume 27

Number 8

August 2014

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Ministries & Missions 2

Pastor-Parish News 3

Library News 4

Birthdays, Births 5

Youth Mission Trip Report 6-8

Grow by Faith 9

Food Ministry 10

Calendar 11

MLG Gallery 12

THIS MONTH

See Calendar Page 11

Mondays at 7-8 a.m. Wake Up With God

All are welcome.

Mondays — 6:30 p.m. Boy Scouts Troop 68

Tuesdays — 7 p.m.

Women’s Bible Study

August 3 — 2:00 p.m. Midway Historical Society

August 12 — Noon Second Tuesday Lunch

August 19 Columbia Public Schools

Classes resume

Please join us for worship. Sunday School: 9:15

Worship: 10:30 Communion first Sundays.

Pastor Dennis Harper

Beyond the Pulpit

Bring > Connect > Serve Making Disciples for Jesus Christ

Since 1817

Thanks to our walking

neighbor John Wilke for

this symbolic view of

our church, upon which

the sun always shines

and the end of the rain-

bow fills us with bounti-

ful gifts.

Women’s Bible Study Continues

The Gospels

The Women’s Bible Study group continues its chronological

reading of the Gospels. The group meets Tuesdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the church. All women are invited to join in this study. Please contact Marjorie McFann for informa-tion at 445-5650 or by email at mjmcfann@hotmail.com.

2

Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible;

and suddenly you are doing the impossible.

St. Francis of Assisi

August 3 Eugene & Lori Tebbe

August 10 Joe & Barb Boillot

August 17 Gene & Mary Kaye Baumann

August 24 Gilbert & Barbara Harville

August 31

Call Kathy Koehler at 875-8772

about being a Fellowship Host for 2014

Midway Locust Grove is once again participat-

ing in Warm Up Columbia, a program offered by

Voluntary Action Center to provide winter items

for our neighbors in need. We will collect August

thru October. (They have a later pick-up/

distribution date this year) And, please tape a note

to any item that needs repair (button missing,

small tear, etc). Please bring these new or gently

used clean items to the designated place in the fel-

lowship hall during August for this important col-

lection:

coats

jackets

blankets

hats, gloves and scarves

socks

If you have questions please contact Lori at the

church office loric@mlgumc.org or Shari Thomas

at shari_thomas@yahoo.com

Festival of Sharing collections to begin

It’s time to get ready to Warm up Columbia

Thank you from Linus

Thanks to everyone who made blankets ear-

lier in the year for Project Linus~~we donated

23 blankets for infants and youth in need in our

community! Shari Thomas

Paper products are the focus of this year’s

Festival of Sharing donations, according to co-

ordinator Sherri Perry.

Each kit will have three packages of toilet

tissue (four double rolls each), two rolls of good

quality paper towels and two large rectangular

boxes of facial tissue.

Boxes will be placed in the Fellowship Hall

for collection as follows:

August 3-17 — toilet tissue

August 24-September 7 — paper towels

September 14-28 — facial tissue

Donations may be placed in the collection

boxes at any time or by the schedule above.

Kits will be assembled and delivered Satur-

day, October 18 to the Festival of Sharing ac-

tivities at the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Se-

dalia.

God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.

Locust Leaves _____________________________

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wee Care Wee Care will start September 2, 2014. We

have a new Director, new staff and Christian mate-rial. We need your help to tell your family and friends to consider their children to come to the church for our program twice a week. See the in-formation material in the entry way of the church. An Eagle Scout project will soon make the church playground beautiful and children want to play there often.

Nursery Worker Position needed Our church needs to hire a nursery worker and

you can help. Please ask your family or friends if a good Christian person would want a job taking care of our kids for a few hours each Sunday.

Nursery Worker Function: To provide quality care for children from infancy through pre-school age. Our nursery workers will assist Midway Lo-cust Grove United Methodist Church in having an inviting and safe place for children during worship and other church events.

Hours: Up to 3 hours (9 a.m. to 12 p.m.) on Sunday mornings primarily.

Qualifications Demonstrate a personal relationship with Jesus

Christ. Must be Safe Sanctuary certified and abide by

Safe Sanctuary Policy Have a deep passion for providing the most

hospitable and loving environment for children under care.

Have the ability to work with other adults, staff, and youth volunteers in the nursery.

Foundation Grant

We have received a matching/challenge grant for audio visual and lighting needs at the church from the UM Foundation. We will be completing the work needed to complete our part of this grant this summer. You will hear more about this grant and what we will be doing next month.

Church Needs We need a volunteer to coordinate the wor-

ship leader position. We need a volunteer to coordinate greeters. We need a teacher for a new Pre-K Sunday

school class. We need a chair, vice chair and members to

start a 200-year anniversary small group We need people to participate and be active in

our small groups. If you are interested see Gary Hughes or

Rev. Dennis.

Beginning in August we are going to take 6

weeks and focus on the Lord’s Prayer in worship.

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how

to pray, the Lord’s Prayer is the answer they re-

ceived. Rarely does a Sunday go by that we do

not recite the Lord’s Prayer together. There is

much that this prayer can teach us about what it

means to follow and live a life devoted to Jesus

Christ.

Following our time with the Lord’s Prayer, you

are invited to study the book, Three Simple Ques-

tions: Knowing the God of Love, Hope, and Pur-

pose, by Rueben P. Job.

The questions are:

Who is God?

Who am I?

Who are we together?

During the 6 weeks beginning on Sunday,

September 14, Rev. Dennis will be preaching on

what the book has to say and everyone is invited

to join a small group that will be studying the

book together. Beginning this month, there will

be sign-ups for groups. If you have any ques-

tions, Rev. Dennis will be happy to speak with

you.

Pastor Parish Relations

Spiritual growth opportunities coming up: The Lord’s Prayer

4 Locust Leaves

By Deshay Rust

Lincoln’s Battle with God

I am writing this a few days after my return

from several days in Springfield, IL. I think it is

fair to say that I immersed myself in Lincoln and

his times for those days. It’s hard not to do this in

Springfield where nearly everything has some

connection to Lincoln. Even our hotel was named

President Abraham Lincoln by Doubletree and

had a likeness of Lincoln at the top of the building

which lit up at night and could be seen for blocks

away.

You may not know that I have had a fascina-

tion with Abraham Lincoln since I was 7 or 8

years old. I have to confess that I was born in Illi-

nois. That probably started the process. The state

of Illinois takes the Land of Lincoln stuff pretty

seriously. My interest in the Civil War simply

added an entire dimension to my Lincoln obses-

sion. It is impossible to read about the war or the

years before the war without the actions and

words of Lincoln permeating every event.

My husband, who knows I have read many,

many books about Lincoln, asked me if I was go-

ing to buy any books in Springfield. Silly man.

Silly question. He asked me to see if I could find

a book about Lincoln and his relationship with

God. It is a fascinating aspect of Lincoln and one

that I have also been interested in. How do you

live in such dramatic, challenging, heart-breaking

times like the 1850s and 1860s without a belief in

God?

So here I was in the National Park Service

Visitor Center for the Lincoln Home in Spring-

field. I had just toured his home and I was taking

a bit of time to browse the books and other items

for sale. What is the first book I notice? Lin-

coln’s Battle With God by Stephen Mansfield.

The subtitle is “A President’s Struggle With Faith

and What It Meant For America.” I bought it.

I have not had a chance to start the book. But I

thought I would share some of the thoughts and

comments from the blurb and back of the book

and some of the reviews posted online:

“I enjoyed the book as it portrayed a side of

Lincoln rarely seen. Lincoln grew up in a home

that was overly religious. In his reaction to it, the

pendulum swung to the far extreme - away from

God. He was a cynic that slowly warmed to the

truths of the gospel message. I don't think one can

fully understand the emotional trauma that Lin-

coln experienced as he dealt with a nation torn

apart by war and a family that was plagued by

death as well.”

“In a day when secularism and political cor-

rectness try to edit religious overtones and influ-

ences in our history, this book tells the true story

of Lincoln's faith that often leaves a lot untold.

Being a student of history, I know quite a bit of

Lincoln's faith - his struggle with it and personal

resolution to the sovereignty and will of God for

him, his family, and the life of the nation. Highly

recommend. For you who are religious doubters

or scoffers, this story may or may not make sense

to you, but it is the story of Lincoln's faith told in

a truthful and scholarly way.”

“Very thorough study of the evolution of

Christian faith in the life of a complicated man.

The author presents ample information at every

step in the changing attitudes of Lincoln toward

Christian beliefs and how they seemed to influ-

ence him as he matured as a man and a president

in the face of the most difficult time America has

known.”

“Lucidly written, engagingly plotted, and well

researched, this book depicts one of the most

thoughtful minds in the history of democracy tak-

ing on the most important question facing any-

one.”

“To study Lincoln is to contemplate the ways

of God in the affairs of men. No one who reads,

for example, his Second Inaugural Address can

doubt that Abraham Lincoln had a profound sense

of God. In the tone of a grave religious poem, it

bears the terrible weight of our worst war, and

still it finds in that war an act of divine justice,

‘true and righteous altogether.’ Stephen Mans-

field investigates with charm and sympathy how

Lincoln looked to heaven for the strength to carry

burdens beyond the human.”

That is just a small sample of the many, many

reviews and comments about this book. Looks

like I have a fascinating and rewarding read

ahead of me!

Happy Reading.

Andy and Kelsey

Strubel are the par-

ents of Jackson Brad-

ley, born July 1,

weighing in at 8 lbs.

1 oz. and measuring

21 inches long.

Jackson is des-

tined to be a fishing

partner for granddad

Billy Cook when

he’s not helping his

grandmother Jill.

Locust Leaves

August 2014

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

August is the eighth month of the year and one of seven months with the length of 31 days. It was named in honor of Augustus Caesar. It once had the Anglo-Saxon name of Weodmonath, or “weed month,” probably for obvious reasons. This year August has five Saturdays and five Sun-days, as will November, and as did March also.

2 Louise Stanley

11 Eugene Tebbe

12 Tessa Gerzen

16 Stephen Rust

26 Mike Thomas

26 Dalli O’Neal

28 Joe Boillot

28 Jaclyn Yaeger

31 Susan Zahringer

Grandbabies

Galore

If someone’s name does not appear here and they do have a birthday this month,

please let Lori know by email and she will update our records.

Jackson Bradley Strubel

Emerson Brileigh Jones

Mary Kaye and Gene Baumann have a new great-

granddaughter, Emerson Brileigh Jones, born on

Mary Kaye’s birthday, June 24 in Overland Park,

KS. Emerson’s parents are Ryan and Amanda Jones

of Olathe, KS. Grandparents are Marcia and Phillip

Spruytte of Olathe. Emerson weighed 6 lbs. 14 oz

and was 19-1/2 inches long at birth.

Sidney Brook Hire

Sidney Brook Hire made her appearance into this

world at 8:47 p.m., when fireworks were filling the

air on July 4. Parents Mallory (Martin) and Justin

Hire are doing well. Tony, LeeAnn, Shawn, and Coo-

per Martin made a mad dash of 14 hours to get to

Augusta, GA for the birth. A long labor was a

good thing for the travelers, although Mallory

may have felt differently. Sydney weighed 7 lbs.

15 oz., and was 21 inches long at birth.

LeeAnn and Tony

do what grandpar-

ents do with a new

grandbaby. . .a lot

of huggin’ and

kissin’. Sidney

played her role

very well.

Of all the joys that lighten suffering earth, what joy is welcomed like a new-born child? — Mrs. Norton

6 Locust Leaves

Mission Possible with The Grove

This unique chainsaw trophy honors Gareth Greenwell as outstanding group leader.

They represented Locust Grove proudly at the 2014 Youth Mission Trip to Hinton Rural

Life Center. In the back row, Tim Rost, Landon Wiswall, Brady Wirth, Gareth Greenwell,

Brendon Rost, Monica Strawn, Austin Frietag; front row, Kylie Jacks, Kyra Florea, Dani

Brown, Sarah Brown, Matt Praiswater, Curtis Brown, and Tammy Strawn

In addition to those they helped in their mission projects, The Grove youth made many new friends in the work groups to which they were assigned.

Locust Leaves 7

When I was copying the pic-tures to send, the song Make New Friends came to mind. I believe it summarizes our trip very well. Tammy Strawn

Make New Friends Submitted by Sue Lynch Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, the other is gold. A circle is round, it has no end. That's how long I will be your friend. A fire burns bright, it warms the heart. We've been friends from the very start. You have one hand, I have the other. Put them together, We have each other. Silver is precious, Gold is too. I am precious and so are you. You help me and I'll help you and together we will see it through. The sky is blue, The earth is green I can help to keep it clean. Across the land, Across the sea, Friends forever

Memories are made of this. . .

Members of The Grove who at-

tended the 2014 mission trip to Hin-

ton Rural Life Center issued their

report and analysis of the trip for

the congregation July 20.

Ten youth and four adults served

their mission time on a variety of

home repair projects in the Hinton

area of North Carolina. Their service was greatly

appreciated by the residents. The group unani-

mously agreed that of equal or more value was the

personal contact they experienced with the resi-

8 Locust Leaves

The Grove reports on their 2014 mission trip to Hinton Rural Life Center

Matt Praiswater Gareth Greenwell Dani Brown Monica Strawn Brendon Rost Kylie Jacks Sarah Brown Landon Wiswall

Tim Rost Tammy Strawn

dents. Their visits created in the youth an

understanding and appreciation for human

contact in an oftentimes lonely environ-

ment. The photos below tell of a special mo-

ment on the trip, that followed the mission activities at Hinton. The group detoured to Warner Robins, Georgia on their return to Mis-souri, to visit friends made in previous mission trips. There, the group witnessed the baptism of their friend and fellow missionary, Kyra Florea. July 20 they gathered around Kyra as she became a member of Lo-cust Grove at the conclusion of the worship service.

Above, Kyra receives her baptismal sacrament in Georgia water. At left, she tells of the experience, and below the congregation stands with her as she becomes a member of the Locust Grove UMC congregation.

Locust Leaves 9

GROW in Faith by your actions Intentional Faith Development (IFD) Small

Group develops ministries that will help us grow in faith outside of weekly worship. IFD members have developed four foundational classes that will cover the basics of our Christian faith and our United Methodist beliefs and structure, as well as our program opportunities. After completions of the four classes members will be promoted to an “Ambassador at Large” for Jesus Christ.

Our Church’s four recurring courses :

Class 101 Discovering MLGUMC Church This course was developed to orient a new per-

son or member to our church history and beliefs. The course was taught on July 27th at church. Next course will be taught in November.

Class 201 Growing in Christ This course was developed to focus on how to

grow in being like Christ in attitude and behavior. The course uses the Five G’s of Grace, Growth, Group, Gifts and Good Stewardship to provide ex-amples of how you can change.

This course will be taught in November at church.

Class 301 Spiritual Gifts This course was developed to find your spiritual

gifts that you have been given by God. The course is tentatively scheduled for early

spring 2015 and taught by Cathy Atkins. This is an excellent course that all can benefit from attending and participating in here.

Class 401 Calling in a mission This course was developed to find a mis-

sion for your spiritual gifts. This course is being scheduled for August.

Activities Adult Sunday School continues on the book

from Charles Stanley “The Wonderful Spirit Filled Life” on from 9:15-10:15 a.m. at the church. A short study of the book “Get their Name” will be done in August. “Dancing with Words” book and Methodist course will start August 24. This course will show you how to develop and tell your story.

A new book called “The Three Simple Ques-tions” book and video study will start in Septem-ber. More details will be published.

Marriage Group based on an Alpha Marriage

course continues and the next meeting is Septem-ber 5th. The meetings are being scheduled by the group. This effort focuses on couples talking and

not group discussions. A Guest Sunday for October 5 to invite the com-

munity is being planned. Tentative dream schedules are being arranged.

These faith development efforts depend on you chal-lenging yourself to help our church CONNECT with others.

Intentional Faith Development refers deliberate efforts, purposeful actions, and setting high priorities and urgency. More courses and opportunities will be developed to allow church members to mature and climb their faith mountain in grace, growth, group, gifts and good stewardship.

Intentional Faith development (IFD) Small Group (IFD) needs people to support and to develop 2015 IFD Dreams for the church. IFD needs people with a variety of spiritual gifts and talents to teach courses, plan meals, facilitate Alpha and Marriage events, support youth Alpha courses, lead Sunday school classes and many other activities. Contact Gary Hughes

In Christ, Gary Hughes

We welcome into membership in our congrega-

tion, from left to right, Dalin Stufflebean, Dawn Lin-

ville, Brittney Keith, and Raina Linville. The family

joined Locust Grove UMC on June 29.

As an added touch to their important day, Raina

and Dawn pro-

vided special

music for wor-

ship earlier in

the service.

Please wel-

come our new

members.

10 Locust Leaves

By Mary Kaye Baumann

We don’t get very many new neighbors, as there are

only five houses on our street. This Christmas, how-

ever, we were blessed with a new couple as neighbors.

Before I could “whip up” some food to welcome

them, we got a plate of wonderful peanut butter cook-

ies from new neighbor Jill.

Recently Jill brought over another treat. . .Veggie

Pizza. Fantastic! A wonderful way to be sure you get

your veggies.

I asked Jill for the recipe, and she graciously gave it

to me, and has now earned a Magic Mixing Fork as we

share it with you.

Veggie Pizza 8 oz. Cream cheese

Dill weed

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

Vegetables — broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, onions, red

and yellow peppers, finely chopped.

Crescent rolls or flat bread

Jill used crescent rolls, rolling the dough out flat

and baking for eight minutes at 400 degrees. I didn’t

have crescent rolls, so used flat bread which works

fine.

Blend the cream cheese with dill, garlic and onion

to suit your taste and spread it on the cooled rolls or

flat bread. Add the chopped vegetable and press into

cream cheese to hold in place. Slice into single serving

size and refrigerate until ready to serve.

P.S. Got a spider on the ceiling? No problem. Hold your hair dryer in one hand and fly swatter in the other. Turn on the hair dryer to hot and max flow and aim it at the spider. He’ll drop from the ceiling and you will be able to kill it with the fly swatter.

Veggie Pizza

Dalli Jo O’Neal holds the trophy she won as the 2014 Boone County Fair Baby Contest winner in the 1-2 year old class. Grandpa Joe Burkart says he is now looking forward to the 2032 Miss Amer-ica Contest. Proud parents are Travis and Mi-chelle O’Neal.

Dalli Jo is a winner at fair

2014 Confirmation class

scheduled to start in September Do you have a student that would be interested

in taking part in a Confirmation Class? Confirma-tion in the United Methodist tradition is a rite through which young Christians affirm the faith of the church, renew (or prepare to take) the vows of Baptism, and commit to lives of discipleship as professing members of The United Methodist Church. Confirmation class is geared for those as young as 6th grade. We are looking to begin in September. More information will be coming out over email and on the yellow card this month. If you have any questions, Rev Dennis would be happy to answer them.

Mentors Needed for Confirmation We are hoping to have a Confirmation Class

this fall. Rev Dennis is looking for adults who are interested in serving as mentors for our confir-mands. Mentors would be available to talk with students about what they are learning in confirma-tion if he or she has any questions. The biggest part of being a mentor is making a commitment to pray daily for his or her student and walk along side them during confirmation. If you are inter-ested please talk to Rev Dennis. Information will be coming out on the yellow card in worship this month.

Locust Leaves

Please re-confirm dates and times of listed events. Check Worship bulletins

for events not posted on this calendar.

Give us your events for our September calendar

Midway Locust Grove United Methodist Church 2600 N. Locust Grove Church Rd. Columbia, MO 65202

Our Mission

Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

Bring people to Jesus Christ By embracing our community with God’s love and grace.

Connect people to Jesus Christ By encouraging people to grow in faith through prayer,

fellowship, study, and worship.

Serve people in the name of Jesus Christ By empowering ministries of compassion and outreach.

Volume 27 Issue 8 August 2014

Visit our Web Site: www.midwaylocustgrove.com

Pastor: Rev. Dennis Harper Church phone: 573-445-4667 Parsonage phone: 573-446-9264 Pastor’s cell phone: 816-769-3705 Email: church@mlgumc.org Email: pastor@mlgumc.org Office: Lori Concannon, loric@mlgumc.org

Locust Leaves Editor: Gene Baumann Rocheport@aol.com 445-1998

Find the hidden cross in this issue.

Christian Humor

MLG Gallery Here’s another good reason

you should consider coming to Wake Up With God on Mon-day mornings at 7:00.

As I approached Midway from the west on Highway 40, at the top of the hill by the school, the sun was shining on a clear day. In the valley ahead I could see a blanket of fog covering downtown Mid-way. As I approached the church, the photo shown here was demanding to be taken.

As luck would have it, I did not have my Nikon with me, so I took a chance that my cell phone would produce an ade-quate image. I was pleasantly surprised at this quality image.

Come to WUG; bring your camera. Gene Baumann

Share your photos with us in the MLG Gallery. We’d like

to see your photos of the church or any other image that

represents a visual statement of your faith.

Christian One-Liners

A lot of church members who are singing “Standing on

the Promises” are just sitting on the premises.

We are called to be witnesses, not lawyers or judges.

Opportunity may knock only once, but temptation keeps

banging on the door forever.

The good Lord didn’t create anything without a pur-

pose, but the mosquito comes close.

Thanks Lucy Schwartz for clipping these.