Somerset UMC Newsletter -The Messenger

February 2020

Somerset UMC137-41 East Main Street ~ POB 237Somerset, Ohio 43783

740.743.1029email – Somerset UnitedMethodistChurch@gmail.com

website – SomersetUMC.org

Two Steps to Thinking Like ChristImagine riding in a speedboat on a lake with an automatic

pilot set to go east. If you decide to reverse and head west, youhave two possible ways to change the boat's direction. One wayis to grab the steering wheel andphysically force it to head in theopposite direction from wherethe autopilot is programmed togo. By sheer willpower youcould overcome the autopilot,but you would feel constantresistance. Your arms wouldeventually tire of the stress, you'dlet go of the steering wheel, andthe boat would instantly headback east, the way it wasinternally programmed.

This is what happens whenyou try to change your life with

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willpower: You say, “I'll force myself to eat less ... exercisemore ... quit being disorganized; read my Bible more.” Yes,willpower can produce short-term change, but it createsconstant internal stress because you haven't dealt with the rootcause. The change doesn't feel natural, so eventually you giveup, go off your diet, and quit exercising. You quickly revert toyour old patterns.

There is a better and easier way: Change your autopilot —the way you think. The Bible says, “Let God transform you intoa new person by changing the way you think” [Romans 12:2bNLT]. Your first step in spiritual growth is to start changing theway you think. Change always starts first in your mind. Theway you think determines the way you feel, and the way youfeel influences the way you act. Paul said, “There must be aspiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes” [Ephesians4:23 NLT].

To be like Christ you must develop the mind of Christ. TheNew Testament calls this mental shift repentance, which inGreek literally means “to change your mind.” You repentwhenever you change the way youthink by adopting how God thinks— about yourself, sin, God, otherpeople, life, your future, andeverything else. You take onChrist's outlook and perspective.

How to Think Like ChristWe are commanded to “think

the same way Christ Jesus thought”[Philippians 2:5 CEV] There aretwo parts to doing this.

1) The first half of this mental

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shift is to stop thinking immaturethoughts, which are self-centeredand self-seeking. The Bible says,“Stop thinking like children. Inregard to evil be infants, but in yourthinking be adults” [1 Corinthians14:20 NIV]. Babies by nature arecompletely selfish. They think onlyof themselves and their own needs.They are incapable of giving; theycan only receive. That is immaturethinking. Unfortunately, manypeople never grow beyond that kind

of thinking. The Bible says selfish thinking is the source ofsinful behavior: “Those who live following their sinful selvesthink only about things that their sinful selves want” [Romans8:5 NCV].

2) The second half of thinking like Jesus is to start thinkingmaturely, which focuses on others, not yourself. In his greatchapter on what real love is, Paul concluded thinking of othersis the mark of maturity: “When I was a child, I talked like achild, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When Ibecame a man, I put childish ways behind me.” [1 Corinthians13:11 NIV]

Christianity is not a religion or a philosophy, but arelationship and a lifestyle. The core of that lifestyle is thinkingof others, as Jesus did, instead of ourselves. The Bible says,“We should think of their good and try to help them by doingwhat pleases them. Even Christ did not try to please himself”[Romans 15:2–3a CEV].

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Thinking of others is the heart of Christlikeness and the bestevidence of spiritual growth. This kind of thinking is unnatural,counter-cultural, rare, and difficult. Fortunately we have help: “God has given us his Spirit. That's whywe don't think the same way that thepeople of this world think” [1 Corinthians2:12a CEV]. May we all be more likeChrist each day.

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Evangelism GoalEveryone at SUMC is challenged to

pray for at least one unchurched personfor at least one minute every day at 1:00 pm. If you cannotpossibly pray for one minute at 1:00 pm, you may want tochoose another time. The important thing is to pray! Afteryou’ve prayed for a person for a few weeks, consider invitingthem to worship with you.

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Prayer has mighty power to move mountains because the Holy Spiritis ready both to encourage our praying and to remove the mountainshindering us. - Wesley L. Duewel

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CommunionWe will celebrate Holy Communionon February 26 – Ash Wednesday.We thank Sharon Wise for herfaithful service as Communion

Steward for the church. !

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SeniorsConsider sending a card to one (or more) of

our folks...Dick Adcock, 12 Carlin Drive, Logan 43138Rosemary Long, 400 North Drive, SomersetGloria Masterson, 250 North Drive, SomersetHazel Crane, 10020 TR 44 NE, SomersetDonna Bushue, 3283 TR 40 NE, SomersetFrances Johnson, Adams Lane, 1856 Adams Lane, ZanesvilleJack McIntyre, 3755 Colony Hill Drive, ZanesvilleGloria Gill, 132 W Main, SomersetEvelyn Gotschall, 20200 SR 668N, Somerset

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You don't have to be alone in your hurt! Comfortis yours. Joy is an option. And it's all been madepossible by your Savior.

- Joni Eareckson Tada

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PrayerDuring the January 19 service, you were asked to begin

praying for 5 people and invite themto worship with you. Remember tokeep praying for them and watch foropportunities to invite them.

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Help the PastorAs you probably know, the Ohio

Legislature passed a bill a few years

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ago, prohibiting hospitals from providing lists of patients toanyone (including pastors). They no longer call a pastor whenyou are admitted to the hospital. If you’re admitted to thehospital, please have a family member call the pastor (in mostcases, a chaplain will call for you too). There is no other wayfor the pastor to know you are in the hospital, unless you call.It is helpful as well to let the pastor know when you’re released- a trip to a hospital following your release takes time awayfrom helping someone else. If you go to a rehab center, thepastor will not know unless you call Rev Walters and let herknow.

If you’d like the pastor to make a call (to your home),please mark the attendance pad or call the office to schedule.

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Most of us are umpires at heart; we like to call balls and strikes onsomebody else. - Leo Aikman

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Groundhog Day Groundhog Day is Sunday, February 2. Legend has it that

if the groundhog sees his shadow, there willbe six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’tsee his shadow, winter will only last fourmore weeks. Legend or not, the groundhogisn’t so good at predictions. He’s been right37% of the time.

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Boy Scout Sunday Boy Scout Sunday is February 9th this year. The scouts will

take part in the service – leading a flag ceremony, serving as

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ushers, greeters and acolytes. As they cometo worship, please welcome them.

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Dear Lord, free me from the memories that keepme from facing the future with confidence.

- Karen Valentin

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Transfiguration SundayThe Transfiguration of the Lord will be

celebrated on February 23. Transfigurationis the last Sunday of the Season ofEpiphany. Come discover just whatTransfiguration means and what it means tous today. This is a day of celebration in thechurch.

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Ruthless trust ultimately comes down to this: faith in the person of Jesusand hope in his promise. - Brennan Manning

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Valentines’ DayValentine Day is Friday, February 14.

Remember your sweetheart!!

Presidents' Day On February 17 we celebrate Presidents’

Day. While we pause to remember all ourpresidents, the holiday is placed between thebirthdays of two of our best presidents, GeorgeWashington and Abraham Lincoln. There is no

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mail service that day, banks and most offices are closed.!

We are told Christ was killed for us, that His death has washedout our sins, and that by dying He disabled death itself...That isChristianity. That is what has to be believed. - C.S. Lewis

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Lent 101Lent is a season of the

Christian Year where Christiansfocus on simple living, prayer,and fasting in order to growcloser to God.

When is Lent? It's the fortydays before Easter. Lent excludes Sundays because everySunday is like a little Easter. Basically, it's about one-tenth of ayear (like a tithe of time). Mardi Gras is the day before Lent,which begins with Ash Wednesday. This year it is February 26through April 11.

In earlier times, people used Lent as a time of fasting andrepentance. Since they didn't want to be tempted by sweets,meat and other distractions in the house, they cleaned out theircabinets. They used up all the sugar and yeast in sweet breadsbefore the Lent season started, and fixed meals with all the meatavailable. It was a great feast! Through the years Mardi Grashas evolved (in some places) into a pretty wild party with littleto do with preparing for the Lenten season of repentance andsimplicity.

Ash Wednesday, the day after Mardi Gras, is the first dayof Lent. It begins with a service where we recognize ourmortality, repent of our sins, and return to our loving God. Werecognize life as a precious gift from God, and re-turn our lives

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toward Jesus. We may make resolutionsand commit to change our lives over thenext forty days so we might be more likeChrist. During the Ash Wednesday service,the minister marks the sign of the cross ona person's forehead with ashes.

Why ashes? In Jewish and Christianhistory, ashes are a sign of mortality andrepentance. Mortality, because when we die, our bodieseventually decompose and we become dust/dirt/ash.Repentance, because long ago, when people felt remorse forsomething they did, they would put ashes on their head andwear “sackcloth” (scratchy clothing) to remind them sin ispretty uncomfortable and leads to death of the spirit. This wastheir way of confessing their sins and asking for forgiveness.

Where do the ashes come from? On what we now callPalm Sunday, Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem while peoplewaved palms and cheered him on. Less then a week later, Jesuswas killed. The palms that were waved in joy became ashes ofsorrow. We get ashes for Ash Wednesday by saving the palmsfrom Palm Sunday, burning them, and mixing them with a littlewater (like tears) or oil. It's symbolic.

What do Christians do with ashes? At an Ash Wednesdayservice, folks are invited to come forward to receive the ashes.The minister will make a small cross on your forehead bysmudging the ashes. While the ashes remind us of our mortalityand sin, the cross reminds us of Jesus' resurrection (life afterdeath) and forgiveness. It's a powerful, non-verbal way we canexperience God's forgiveness and renewal as we return to Jesus.

So what is LENT? At Jesus' baptism the sky split open, theSpirit of God, which looked like a dove, descended and landedon Jesus, and a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, My

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Beloved, with whom I am pleased.” Afterward, as told inMatthew 4:1-11, Jesus was sent into the wilderness by theSpirit. Where he fasted and prayed for 40 days. During his timethere he was tempted by Satan and found clarity and strength toresist temptation. Afterward, he was ready to begin his ministry.

Why “DO: Lent? How do I start? Are you searching forsomething more? Tired of running in circles, but not reallyliving life with direction, purpose or passion? It's pretty easy toget caught up in the drama of classes, relationships, family, andwork. Our lives are filled with distractions that take us awayfrom living a life with Christ. We try to fill the emptiness insideus with mindless TV, meaningless chatter, stimulants, too manyactivities or other irrelevant stuff. We run away from life andfrom God.

Lent is a great time to “repent” – to return to God andre-focus our lives to be more in line with Jesus. It's a 40 daytrial run in changing your lifestyle and letting God change yourheart. You might try one of these practices for Lent:

FASTING: Some people have been known to go withoutfood for days. But that's not the only way to fast. You can fastby cutting out some of the things in your life that distract you

from God. Some Christians use the whole40 days to fast from candy, tv, softdrinks, or meat as a way to purify theirbodies and lives. You might skip onemeal a day and use that time to prayinstead. Or you can give up some activitylike worry or reality tv to spend time

outside enjoying God’s creation. What do you need to let go ofor “fast” from in order to focus on God? What clutters yourcalendar and life? How can you simplify your life in terms ofwhat you eat, wear or do?

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SERVICE: Some Christians take something on for Christ.You can collect food for the needy, volunteer once a week totutor children, or work to better our community. You cancommit to help a different stranger, co-worker or friendeveryday of Lent. Serving others is one way we serve God.

PRAYER: Christians also use Lent as a time of intentionalprayer. You can pray whileyou walk, or savor a time ofquiet listening. All can beways of becoming more intune with God.

Christians from manydifferent traditions celebrateLent. How will you use the time to grow closer to God?

Top Ten List: THINGS YOU CAN TRY FOR THELENTEN SEASON10. Try an electronic fast. Give up TV, gaming, texting,

tweeeting, e-mail and all things electronic for one dayevery week. Use the time to read and pray.

9. Start a prayer rhythm. Say a prayer every time you brushyour teeth, hear an ambulance, or check youre-mail. Before you text someone, pray for them.8. Read one chapter in the Bible each day. 7. Forgive someone who doesn't deserve it(maybe even yourself.)6. Give up soft drinks, fast food, tea or coffee.

Give the money you save to help folks incrisis.

5. Create a daily quiet time. Spend 30 minutesa day in silence and prayer.4. Cultivate a life of gratitude. Write someone

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a thank you letter each week and be aware of how manypeople have helped you along the way.

3. Be kind to someone each day.2. Pray for others you see as you walk to and from classes ordrive to and from work.1. Volunteer one hour or more each week with a local shelter,

the food pantry, tutoring program, nursing home, prisonministry or other project.

!Feeding the Hungry

In August of 2012 the SUMC Food Pantry became affiliatedwith the Southeastern Ohio Food Bank located in Logan. The pantryis called the Somerset Area Food Pantry. It servers people in Readingand Clayton Townships. Since joining the Food Bank we are able topurchase many food products for 19¢ a pound. What this means inreal terms is that a can of corn would cost approximately 19 cents.

In 2014, food pantries operating aspart of the food bank were offered anopportunity to write a grant proposal toimprove their local pantries. Takingadvantage of this opportunity, aproposal was written to secure funds tomove the food pantry from the upstairsof the Annex to the church basement.This would make it handicappedaccessible and permit a change to a Choice Pantry. The proposal wasgranted in the amount of $6,000 from the Athens Foundation. As aresult, a storeroom was created in a portion of the Fellowship Hall.The electrical system was upgraded in that room and internet accesswas made available. The construction of the storeroom wascompleted in Dec of 2014.

In January 2015, the food pantry began operation as a ChoicePantry. This means those who come to the pantry can use a shoppingcart and choose products from the shelves their families will use.

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They do so according to a formula based on family size. We alsobegan to use an electronic tracking program called Pantry Trak.Shoppers must verify their eligibility each visit before they begin toshop.

The pantry offers a wide variety of products categorized in 6groups: Fruits, Vegetables, Combination (products with more thanone ingredient), Miscellaneous, Grains, and Non Protein. Inaddition, shoppers may choose from a variety of frozen and freshproducts as available.

The pantry operates independently of the church budget,dependent upon the private donations of products and cash byindividuals in our church and community, by churches (includingours), by organizations, businesses, and from grants from KrogerRound-up, South Central Power and the Columbus Foundation. Weare so very grateful for the dedication ofthe volunteers from our church familywho serve to open the pantry Wednesday,Thursday, and Friday from 9 till noon.God is blessing this ministry in ways wecould never imagine and we are so verythankful. You are invited to stop by andvisit.

Items most needed right now: Eggs, tuna, shampoo, dishdetergent, laundry detergent, produce, feminine supplies, Ramennoodles.

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WebsiteHave you checked out the website? Do you have

information you believe should be on the website? Please checkit out at sumersetumc.org

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Discipleship FocusWe are focusing on discipleship in 2020. To get everyone

started on the same foot, we’re going to offer a six week class

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on discipleship during Lent during the Sunday School hour. Soat 9:00am beginning March 1, we’ll meet together as a church

family and discuss five essential practices togrow closer to Jesus. We’ll use AdamHamilton’s book The Walk as the basis forour study. We’ll place an order for anyonewho wants a book on Feb 17.

We’ll talk about how we walk withChrist — daily follow him, grow in him,

and faithfully serve him. In the Gospels, Jesus modeled for usthe Christian spiritual life. The apostles taught it in theirwritings. And the Church has, through the last 2,000 years,sought to pursue this Christian spiritual life.

Deepen your walk with Christ as we explorethe five essential practices of the faith. We’ll meetin the Community Life Center.

You will notice a couple pages in thenewsletter – one is a chart which helps youevaluate where you are on your journey and theother helps you see the steps to deepeningdiscipleship. The Discipleship Team hopes thishelps you assess and create strategies to kelp youon your Christian journey.

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Beloved StudyBeginning March 11, a study will be offered in the

Community Life Center at 10:00am Wednesdays for anyonewanting to learn how much Jesus loves you. We'll learn webelong to a family that will never abandon us. We'll encountergrace and practical tools to make God our first priority. Jesuswill meet us personally in the pages of His Word, and we'll betransformed as a result. This group will meet for 6 weeks.

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Chilli Cook-OffMt Perry Presbyterian Church is having aChili Cook-Off on Saturday, February 8,11:00am-3:00pm. If you want to enter,there’s a $10 fee. Following the judging,try out the entries!

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First Responder ClassSomerset EMS is offering information on Basic and First

Responder classes on Feb. 9 at the Somerset Firehouse at 6 p.m.Actual First responder classes will be from March 2-April 15 onMon and Wed evenings. Questions? Please call the firehouse at740-743-1441 or talk to Mike Henderson.

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Financial UpdateThe Finance Team met in January to assess our stewardship

in 2019 (You can always request a full report from the office). Giving to the Community Life Center mortgage is down. In

2015, $66,446 was received. In 2019, $22,802 was received.That’s quite a difference.

Remaining Loan Balance - $268,078.24Loan Payment due each month - $2,318.42We send an additional $200 each month to pay down the

principle so we pay $2518.12. This will save on interestThis means we received $22,802 toward the mortgage and

paid $30,284 (extra taken from opening balance).Many in the community support our Community Life

Center. If you’re not currently supporting it, please considergiving a bit each month.

The General Fund, Sunday School, and Missions received$164,424 in 2019. We spent $239,600. This is the unaudited

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figure so could be adjusted a bit. As you can see, this is adeficit. We are spending down our reserves quickly. The goodnews is, we received $164,424 in 2019 which is an increaseover 2018 ($153,479).

We’ve replaced the roof and are now working on gettingthe ceiling fixed, walls painted and some updating in thesanctuary.

Your faithfulness is appreciated. Yourtithes help meet our budget. Moreimportant than meeting a budget, yourtithes share the Word with children. Yourtithes help those who are hungry orhomeless or reach out to those who do not

know Jesus. Your gifts help meet our obligations for ourCommunity Life Center. May God bless you in your generosity.

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Special GuestsOn February 2, we welcome the Legion to worship as we

remember the Four Chaplains.On February 9, we welcome the Scouts to celebrate Scout

Sunday.We are excited to welcome our community to worship!

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Somerset United Methodist Church137-41 East Main Street POB 237Somerset, Ohio 43783

To:

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