FROM THE PASTOR: Easter Humor
A pastor was asked to take part in an ecumenical Eater dawn pageant. At 5:15 am he was zipping down the road, but within minutes the flashing red lights of a police car pulled him over. The pastor was in the costume of an angel—complete with wings and a halo. When the officer walked toward him and saw how the pastor was dressed his eyes nearly popped out of his head. The officer regained his composure and asked, “Do you have any idea how fast you were going?” The pastor said that he didn’t but that he really had to hurry because, “I’ve got to get to the resurrection on time!” The officer stared at him and finally blurted out, “Go! Just go!” And he did.
A Sunday school teacher asked her class about the meaning of Easter. A little boy raised his hand and said: “That’s when we shoot off firecrackers and celebrate our freedoms.” A little girl said, “No, that’s when we eat the turkey and give thanks.” “I know,” a third youngster exclaimed. “That’s when Jesus comes out of the tomb—but if he sees his shadow, he goes back in!”
FELLOWSHIP DINNER
The fellowship dinner for April will be held Wednesday April 6th at 6:30 pm in the fellowship hall. Everyone is welcome, even if you don’t have time to make something to bring.
FELLOWSHIP BIBLE STUDY GATHERING
Those interested in a time of sharing, praying, and fellowshipping together are welcome to gather at the home of Henry Procopio on Wednesday April 20th at 6:30 pm. This is a monthly gathering but anyone is welcome to come whenever they can come. The group is studying the Gospel of Mark. You can start at any time. Desserts are provided.
UPCOMING DATES
May 8th Mother’s Day
May 14th Hope Center Bar-B-Que
May 22nd Heritage Sunday
May 30th Memorial Day
CHURCH CLEANING SCHEDULE
For April 3rd Donna & Trent
For April 10th Bev & Tim Garrett
For April 17th Brenda & Tony
For April 24th Martha & Henry
COMMUNION
We will celebrate Communion on Sunday, April 3rd.
MEMBER ADDRESSES NEEDED
The church is responsible for keeping up with its members’ addresses even if they move. We are missing addresses for the following members: Charlie Brown, Mitch and Vickie Skelton, Lois Harper. If you can get an address and phone number for any of these people please write it down and give it to the pastor.
WHERE THERE’S A WILL THERE’S A WAY
Your will is an ideal opportunity to care for the needs of your family and advance the cause of Christ. There is great peace of mind in knowing that both your family and the church are taken care of by the final distribution of your assets.
WORSHIP COMMITTEE
The worship committee will meet on Wednesday, April 13th at 6:30 pm to plan upcoming worship services. Members of the committee are Brenda Alcorn, Tim Garrett, Martha Neeley, Peggi Billman, Jesse Browning, and Vickie Kegerise.
EASTER LILY ORDERS
If you would like to sponsor an Easter Lily to decorate our church sanctuary April 24th you can sign the order sheet at worship or call the church answering machine at 299-5203 and leave a message giving your name, the name of the person or persons for whom you are sponsoring the lily, and if it is in honor or in memory of that person. The lilies are $8.00 each. You can put your donation in the offering plate marked or send it to the church marked “lilies”.
CHURCH WORK DAY
On Saturday April 9th the trustees have called for a work day at the church to get the church and grounds ready for our Easter guests. There are numerous jobs to be done, especially clean up of gardens on the south side of the church and clean up of the cemetery. Work will start at 9am. Many hands will help get jobs done quickly.
MISSION PROJECT OF THE MONTH
In the next several newsletters we will highlight the different local and foreign mission projects that our church supports through our weekly offerings. One of the local projects that we support is the Joelton Hope Center which we read about monthly in our newsletters.
Another project that is both local and foreign is Aldersgate Renewal Ministries [ARM]. (ARM is Pastor Billman’s other employer and Peggi’s employer) ARM is located on East Avenue right in Goodlettsville, TN. The mission of ARM is to see people filled, gifted, empowered and led by the Holy Spirit in ministry to the world. It accomplishes that mission by a number of means. They have an annual national conference on the Holy Spirit that is held in different parts of the country each year. This year it will be held in Dayton, OH, July 27-31.
At the Aldersgate Renewal Center in Goodlettsville a number of events are held. Several Forest Grove women recently attended a Women’s Day Apart there. Pastor Billman directs the Methodist School for Supernatural Ministry there in February and October of each year. There is a Minister and Spouse Retreat, a worship conference and training events held there.
ARM conducts local church renewal events like the Lay Witness Mission and Lord Teach Us to Pray weekends that we experienced here at Forest Grove. Pastor Billman is in charge of Lay Witness Missions and Life in the Spirit Seminars scheduled across the country.
And finally, ARM does ministry internationally. They have done seminars in 16 different foreign countries. Pastor Billman is in charge of this aspect of ARM’s ministry as well. Last year Pastor Billman and Peg went on an ARM mission trip to Liberia. This year teams will be going to do seminars in Estonia and India. Pastor Billman will be taking a mission trip to Brazil in May to meet with the head of the Council of Bishops of the Methodist Church in Brazil and teach in Nic Billman’s ministry school there.
ARM is an affiliate of the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church. That means that the General Board gives some oversight for ARM’s ministry but ARM does not receive any funds from the General Board or from apportionment giving. It is supported through contributions by individuals and by churches like ours.
JOELTON HOPE CENTER –Neighbors Helping Neighbors
The Hope Center is located 212 Gifford Place, between Curves and the Laundromat. There are now over 115 client families being helped by our center. In January 36 families [138 individuals] received food boxes.
A barrel is in the entryway of the church to receive donations for the Joelton Hope Center. [You can also take them directly to the Hope Center.] For the month of April we will be collecting dried beans. [If you buy them in bulk, package them in quart size bags.
The Hope Center is open Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10-4 and 10-2 Saturday. The Hope Center Board set a goal of being open 6 days a week in 2011 so additional volunteers are needed any day Monday-Saturday. Dee Randolph has recently started volunteering again there. She would love for others from Forest Grove to join her.
CHILDREN’S EASTER PARTY
Watch for more information regarding the Children’s Easter Party.
The Coat Hanger
A woman was at work when she received a phone call that her small daughter was very sick with a fever. She left her work and stopped by the pharmacy to get some medication. She got back to her car and found that she had locked her keys in the car.
She didn't know what to do, so she called home and told the baby sitter what had happened. The baby sitter told her that the fever was getting worse. She said, "You might find a coat hanger and use that to open the door."
The woman looked around and found an old rusty coat hanger that had been left on the ground, possibly by someone else who at some time had locked their keys in their car. She looked at the hanger and said, "I don't know how to use this." She bowed her head and asked God to send her help.
Within five minutes a beat up old motor cycle pulled up, with a dirty, greasy, bearded man who was wearing an old biker skull rag on his head. The woman thought, "This is what you sent to help me?" But, she was desperate, so she was also very thankful. The man got off of his cycle and asked if he could help.
She said, "Yes, my daughter is very sick. I stopped to get her some medication and I locked my keys in my car. I must get home to her. Please, can you use this hanger to unlock my car?" He said, "Sure." He walked over to the car, and in less than a minute the car was opened.
She hugged the man and through her tears she said, "Thank You So Much! You are a very nice man." The man replied, "Lady, I am not a nice man. I just got out of prison today. I was in prison for car theft and have only been out for about an hour."
The woman hugged the man again and with sobbing tears cried out loud, "Oh, thank you God! You even sent me a Professional!!!"
Is - GOD GOOD - or what!!!???
Good to Remember. . .
When I was a kid, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage, and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school.
I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget what he
said: "Honey, I love burned biscuits."
Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really
liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your momma put in a long hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides... a burnt biscuit never hurt anyone!"
You know, life is full of imperfect things... and imperfect people. I'm not the
best at anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like
everyone else. What I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each
others faults and choosing to celebrate each others differences, is one of the
most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.
So...please pass me a biscuit. And yes, the burned one will do just fine! And
please pass this along to someone who has enriched your life... I just did!
Life is too short to wake up with regrets... Love the people who treat you right and forget about the ones who don't.
ENJOY LIFE NOW - IT HAS AN EXPIRATION DATE!
Native to Japan, Easter Lilies were imported to the United States until 1941, when World War II prompted Americans to start growing their own bulbs. Today, nearly all of the 15 million Easter Lily bulbs grown in America are produced by just ten farms along the California-Oregon border. The bulbs are harvested in the fall, and then shipped to commercial greenhouses in Michigan, California, Pennsylvania and Ohio, where they are planted in time to bloom for Easter. Easter Lilies are the fourth largest selling potted plant in America, upstaged by the popular Christmas-time poinsettias, mums and azaleas.
The Easter Connection
According to Biblical scholars, the Easter Lily was found growing in the Garden of Gethsemane where Judas is said to have betrayed Jesus. Legend tells that white lilies miraculously sprung up from the ground where drops of Jesus' sweat and tears fell during his last hours.The Easter Lily also has close associations with Jesus' mother, the Virgin Mary. In early religious paintings, the Archangel Gabriel is pictured extending a branch of white lilies to Mary, symbolizing that she had become the virgin mother to the Savior.
I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget what he
said: "Honey, I love burned biscuits."
Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really
liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your momma put in a long hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides... a burnt biscuit never hurt anyone!"
You know, life is full of imperfect things... and imperfect people. I'm not the
best at anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like
everyone else. What I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each
others faults and choosing to celebrate each others differences, is one of the
most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.
So...please pass me a biscuit. And yes, the burned one will do just fine! And
please pass this along to someone who has enriched your life... I just did!
Life is too short to wake up with regrets... Love the people who treat you right and forget about the ones who don't.
ENJOY LIFE NOW - IT HAS AN EXPIRATION DATE!
The Easter Lily
Easter morn with lilies fair
Fills the church with perfumes rare,
As their clouds of incense rise,
Sweetest offerings to the skies.
Stately lilies pure and white
Flooding darkness with their light,
Bloom and sorrow drifts away,
On this holy hallow'd day.
Easter Lilies bending low
in the golden afterglow,
Bear a message from the sod
To the heavenly towers of God.
-Louise Lewin Matthews
The History of the Easter LilyFills the church with perfumes rare,
As their clouds of incense rise,
Sweetest offerings to the skies.
Stately lilies pure and white
Flooding darkness with their light,
Bloom and sorrow drifts away,
On this holy hallow'd day.
Easter Lilies bending low
in the golden afterglow,
Bear a message from the sod
To the heavenly towers of God.
-Louise Lewin Matthews
Native to Japan, Easter Lilies were imported to the United States until 1941, when World War II prompted Americans to start growing their own bulbs. Today, nearly all of the 15 million Easter Lily bulbs grown in America are produced by just ten farms along the California-Oregon border. The bulbs are harvested in the fall, and then shipped to commercial greenhouses in Michigan, California, Pennsylvania and Ohio, where they are planted in time to bloom for Easter. Easter Lilies are the fourth largest selling potted plant in America, upstaged by the popular Christmas-time poinsettias, mums and azaleas.
The Easter Connection
According to Biblical scholars, the Easter Lily was found growing in the Garden of Gethsemane where Judas is said to have betrayed Jesus. Legend tells that white lilies miraculously sprung up from the ground where drops of Jesus' sweat and tears fell during his last hours.The Easter Lily also has close associations with Jesus' mother, the Virgin Mary. In early religious paintings, the Archangel Gabriel is pictured extending a branch of white lilies to Mary, symbolizing that she had become the virgin mother to the Savior.
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