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MOUNDS PARK UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
1049 Euclid Street
St. Paul, MN 55106-5616
651-774-8736
THE ECHO
JULY 2015
EVERYONE WELCOME!
Words for Thought
Humor gives us smiles, laughter and gaiety. Humor reveals the roses and hides the
thorns. Hummer makes our heavy burdens light and smoothes the rough spots in
our pathways. Humor endows us with the capacity to clarify the obscure, to simplify
the complex, to deflate the pompous, to chastise the arrogant, to point to a moral,
and to adorn a tale.
Sam Ervin Food Stuff Magazine June 2015
Summer Worship at Mounds Park Church
Hymn Sing Starts at 10:20 a.m.
Worship at 10:30 a.m.
July 2015
4th
July
usually signals that summer is close to being half over. How are you doing
on your “Summer Bucket List”? Have you had any watermelon yet, been swimming
in a lake, caught a fish, got your hands covered in dirt planting, cut the grass, been
on a trip, sat in the warm summer breeze, gone on a picnic, took a walk in the
park/woods, taken a boat ride, had a good ice cream cone, enjoyed a good rain with
thunder and lightning, picked some fresh flowers, inspected the growing corn,
wheat or soy beans, had a hot dog, visited an extended family member,
enjoyed a beautiful summer evening with friends. It’s summer – take time to drink
in life and experience the creative wonders of God. Now is the time – before the
state fair begins which signals summer’s end.
Sunday, July 5th
Sunday, July 12th
Sunday, July 19th
How Do I Experience God?
“In Praise, Worship & Sacrament!”
Praise, Worship, Thanksgiving, Confession, Forgiveness,
Mystery
Meditation by Pastor Dennis
Celebration of Holy Communion
Guest Preacher
Rev. Victor Waters
Pastor of Mounds Park Church from 1999-2011
Liturgist: Jan Potthoff
Special Music: Women’s Chorus
Guest Preacher
Rev. Greg Vang
Associate Pastor of Wheelock UMC (Hmong)
Liturgist: Bob Lucas
Special Music: Rev. Richard Harper on the Organ
Sunday, July 26th
Community Breakfast In Fellowship Hall
Guest Preacher
Rev. Greg Renstrom
Former pastor of Hamline UMC
Liturgist: Bob Lucas
Special Music: Howard Kranz, from Walker UMC, Mpls
Sunday, July 26th
Second Free Community Breakfast & Worship
In Fellowship Hall
9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Hot Breakfast Served to All
10:30 a.m. Worship Together In Fellowship Hall
We are inviting the community and church family to gather together for breakfast
and worship all in the fellowship hall. The Breakfast menu will be: Breakfast
Burritos with all the fixings, fruit, toast, milk & juice. All are welcome – please
invite your family, friends and neighbors! Our morning worship service will follow
breakfast in the fellowship hall. Please invite your neighbors and friends to come for
breakfast and worship.
Guest Preacher
Rev. Greg Renstrom
Former pastor of Hamline UMC
Liturgist: Bob Lucas
Special Music
Table Conversations
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People Are the Church
Please Pray For…
The following persons were lifted in prayer during the month of June. Please
continue to keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
Juanita “Pinky” Biljan; Mark Stockland; Kendra Haas; Marion King;
Terri Sorenson; Our Heifer Ranch Mission Team: Eric Buck, Amy Buck,
Amanda Thompson, Susan Rhea, Savannah Haslow, Amber Noyer, Galen
Decker, Halina Decker, Stella Cannon, Tanushri Buck, Sierra Burke,
Subashri Buck, Jonas Buck, Epworth UMC, Mpls
Our Homebound Members; The Dayton’s Bluff Community;
The families of those suffering in Charleston, SC
Birthdays
Please be sure to contact the office if your birthday or anniversary was
missing or misprinted.
June Corrections
Terri Sorenson - June 16
Thelma Beam - June 17
July Birthdays
1st - Marion Wohlfeil
6th - Subashri Buck
10th - Marvel Roth
22nd - Sebastian Cha
26th - Toya Hunter
Kenzie Sorenson - June 16
Nate Wandersee - June 24
2nd - Sarah Kasl
7th - Kayla Fink
10th - Randall Kopp
23rd - Yuna Cha
27th - Alisha Obedoza
3rd - Sandy Johnson
8th - Jennifer Malani
13th - David Chuhel
23rd - Canzell Wright
30th - Mark Stockland
Thank you!
I very much appreciate the prayers, many cards and phone calls I received
after the passing of my husband Don. Thank you to Pastor Dennis for all of the
visits to our home.
Evie Reichert.
In loving memory of David Brenton Carlson
David Carlson was born in Minneapolis on September 27th, 1939. He was
adopted by Carl and Camille Carlson, a year and a half later. He graduated from
North St Paul High School and then graduated from Inver Grove Heights
Community College in human services.
David was an excellent sales person. The work he enjoyed the most was when
he formed and owned a non-profit organization named: PSR: Protection, Shelter &
Referral. Through this agency, David provided help and support to homeless
persons referred to him by the Red Cross & other social service
agencies. He offered a room, a bed, food, and lots of love. Later he would work for
Thomas Allen assisting people with intellectual & developmental disabilities.
David’s struggle with addiction led him to the Christ Recovery Center where
he recently celebrated 22 years of sobriety. In addition, David led a Tuesday
morning recovery group there for the past 18 years. He was one of the founders of
the Twelve Steppers who are currently meeting in this church on Tuesday evenings.
David had a personal relationship with his Lord of Savior Jesus Christ and
actively supported the ministries of the following churches: Central Park UMC,
Wheelock Parkway UMC, Faith UMC in West St Paul, Arlington Hills Presbyterian
Church and Mounds Park UMC. In each congregation, he was active and generous;
often seeking to support and encourage the pastor as a friend.
David loved his northern trailer at the lake, enjoyed fishing, westerns, and
Yorkee dogs. He was a people person, energetic and passionate, always seeking to
befriend those who appeared quiet, overlooked and forgotten. He loved to tell jokes,
to poke fun, and draw a laugh out of us. He was always on the phone calling people
who were missing, hurting or homebound. He was a person of faith, who prayed,
easily offered his testimony and trusted mighty in God.
Last year, the Union Gospel Mission honored him with its “Volunteer of the
Year” award given for his unceasing commitment to compassion and service.
David and Kathy were married at Faith UMC in West St. Paul on December
th
17 , 1988. He dearly loved his family and was devoted to his friends. On Saturday,
May 23rd, 2015 David died at St. Joseph’s Hospital in downtown St. Paul. He is
survived by his wife, Kathy; daughters: Nancee, Jennifer and Christine and his
sons: Brenton and Darren; He celebrates: 9 grandchildren and 1 great-grand child.
David Carlson is a wonderful example of recovery and a precious child of God.
Sunday Attendance
Worship
5/31: 52
6/7: 87
Urban Cross Worship
6/14: 37
6/15: 43
6/14: 85
6/16: 42
6/21: 81
6/18: 44
6/19: 68
(with communion)
United Methodist Women
Mary Circle will meet on Monday, July 6th at 9:30a in the Fellowship Hall. See
Sandy Abernathy with any questions.
Lydia Circle will meet on Monday, July 6th at 6:30p in the Lounge. See Janice
Soeffner with any questions.
Elizabeth Circle will dine at La Grolla(452 Selby) on Monday evening, July
13th.Meet at the restaurant at 6:00 P.M.For reservations, contact Pat
Marzolf via email at@aol.com.
Adult Small Groups
Community Friendship Gathering will be on Wednesday, July 29, 2015 at
12:00p. Cost is $8.00. Please see the front cover for menu and program.
Reservations due to the church office or Virginia Bonora the Monday before
Friendship Gathering.
Pastor’s Class in August
“The Deeper Life: Character & Values Matter!”
Four Sessions: August 2, 9, 16, 23
How do our lives have meaning & purpose? What truly enriches our souls?
What will be said about you when you are no more? What will people remember?
Character and values matter – they enrich, transform and deepen our lives.
You can do one of three things to prepare for the class:
1. Read the book: The Road to Character by David Brooks
(or just two chapters which I have copies)
2. Read the book: The Long Loneliness by Dorothy Day
3. Study these websites:
The Virtues Project: www.virtuesproject.com
Search Institutes Developmental Assets: www.search-institute.org
We do a great job of teaching people how to get ahead, how to accomplish,
how to accumulate; but what about honesty, integrity, humility, peacemaking,
building community?
It’s the difference between Adam One and Adam Two!
Articles
Urban CROSS
WOW! have just completed our 6th year of Urban CROSS. theme this year
was “Grace flowing like a river.” scripture this was based on comes from John 1:16
which states, “From God’s abundant love we all receive grace, one blessing after
another.” daily themes from our speakers were Unearth,
Endure, Enjoy and Entrust. ’s grace takes us on a journey of how we need to dig up
and discover, that we need to tolerate the fact that His grace is for everyone, that
we need to fully appreciate all that God’s grace has for us and finally to trust that
this grace will allow us to grow and to be in God’s loving arms. Urban CROSS has
been a major undertaking since its inception. God as the foundation, this program
that our “little church on the corner” created has grown in to something quite
amazing. I realize that the hours (and driving miles, and walking, and talent, and
energy) that all of our volunteers put in to make Urban CROSS is immeasurable.
with all of this volunteerism from our church, we have also had numerous
volunteers from other congregations and support from local businesses. For those of
us who like numbers, we had 33 week-long campers (19 representing Mounds Park
UMC and 14 from 3 other congregations, 19 veteran campers and 14 new to Urban
CROSS), 3 partial week campers, 27 folks on the prayer team, 33 prayer partners,
11 on the Ministry Team, 29 listed volunteer staff, many more volunteers for
various short-term tasks throughout the week, 39 project sites, 23 support sponsors,
and ONE God to pull all this together. have a look at our Sponsor Page at
http://www.moundsparkumc.org/sponsors.pdf, and be sure to thank these
businesses for their support. What an amazing week is has been, and I thank you
for your support.
The Ministry Team is already in the process of evaluating this year’s
experience. you are aware of anything that needs improvements, or have
suggestions for positive growth, please connect with Eric Buck.
Pastor’s Vacation
Pastor Dennis will be on vacation from Wednesday, July 8th through July
While he is away Rev. Rachael Warner, pastor of Epworth & Christ UMC will
be on call with support from our two Lay Leaders: Jerome Sakpeider (651-731-5832)
and Mike Thompson (651-771-6170). If there is a pastor emergency, please call the
church office at (651) 774-8736 or one of the Lay Leaders. They will get in touch
with Pastor Warner.
Dennis & Gail will be flying to Seattle and then traveling to Seaside Oregon,
then on to Portland Oregon and finally to Spokane Washington where they will be
visiting extended family. Pastor Dennis will be back in worship on Sunday, August
2nd.
31st.
Worship Thoughts
by Jan Potthoff, member of our Worship Ministry Team
On Pentecost, I was asked “Why do we wear red today?” I realized then that
sometimes we all need a reminder of why we do certain things, especially in church.
Church buildings are often a reflection of the ideas and times of the folks who built
them. The interior as well as the exterior of the buildings often change with the
current population who worships there. We strive to create a welcoming atmosphere
where all of us can be open to the presence of God in community on Sunday
morning. How we share our prayers and concerns, the music we choose, both to sing
and listen to, the items we use for preparing for communion and the colors we use
in preparing the space each Sunday speak to us in many ways, hopefully opening
our hearts to encounter the God who dwells in each of us.
The Liturgical year is broken up into two cycles. The Christmas cycle is
Advent, Christmas and the Epiphany. The Easter cycle is Lent, Easter and
Pentecost. Some of you may remember that there was a time after Pentecost called
Kingdomtide. Most United Methodist churches now call the time in between
Ordinary Time. There is nothing mundane about this time! This is an extraordinary
time! This is the time of growth. We seek to grow in faith, in prayer and in action to
be the kingdom of God on earth. Soon you will see the color green used inside
church as a reminder that this is a time to grow in faith and plant the seeds of
the’s Kingdom you are throughout your days and nights.
Prayer Ministry
Mounds Park UMC has multiple opportunities to pray for our church family.
One of those ways is by using the Prayer Chain. Mounds Park UMC utilizes both
the telephone and email prayer chain. To sign up for either, please call the office
(651-774-8736) by Sunday, July 19 and indicate which list you would like to be on.
If you are on the telephone prayer chain, you will receive a call from the
person before you, relaying to you the prayer request. It is then up to you to call the
next person on the list. If that person is not home, you would leave a message
indicating the prayer & that you are calling the next person to continue the chain.
Please do not stop calling until you have spoken to someone live. If you receive a
message with a prayer request, please call the next person on the list to ensure that
the chain has continued. As part of the email prayer chain, the office will send out
an email asking for prayer requests. You are not required to forward this email to
anyone, only to pray for the person(s) included.
Telephone Prayer Chain
Please use this order when calling.
Church Office
Marion Wohlfeil
Pinky Biljan
Marjean Harper
Nancy Jones
Marion King
Virginia Bonora
Merle Kochsiek
Carol Lewis
Gerald Manthei
Jan Potthoff
Kathy Carlson
Gene Wandersee
Church Office
Electronic Prayer Chain
Church Office, Dennis Alexander,
Becky Bogema, Erin Brown, Amy Buck,
Eric Buck, Ian Buck, Gigi Decker,
Lois Draeger, Laurellen Halek,
Christy Hamman, Louise Letnes, Bob Lucas,
Suzanne Lucas, Linda Miner, Alvin Mitchell,
Cindy Mueller, Kristy (Fink) Odland,
Jan Pluff, Steven Pluff, Tiana Pluff,
Nancy Rassier, Diane Rode,
Esther Sakpeider, Jerome Sakpeider,
Janice Soeffner, Mark Stockland,
Mike Thompson, Tim Triplett,
Joel Walther, Ella Wilsey
Urban Cross Prayer Partner Ministry
Thank you to everyone who participated as a Prayer Partner for an Urban
Cross camper. We had an amazing result this year, with 33 persons praying for 36
campers! Please be sure to send your follow up letter to your camper soon. Thanks
again for your amazing prayers!
-Kaite Knack & Jan Pluff
Youth Mission Trip - Heifer Ranch in Perryville, AR
Many from our youth group (Eric Buck, Amanda Thompson, Sue Rhea, Amy
Buck, Savannah, Amber, Galen, Halina, Lena, Sella, Tanushri, Sierra,
Subashri and possibly Jonas, along with several from Mpls Epworth UMC) will be
heading down to Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas. Ranch is an educational and
experiential facility where participants learn about the mission of Heifer Project,
International. program includes group building activities, personal growth
activities, a Global Village overnight experience and some basic farming chores. will
be leaving our church the morning of Saturday, July 18 and returning the eve of
Sunday, July 26. trip will also include some
activities enroute that will spread knowledge to other churches about Heifer
Project’s mission. We have appreciated your prayer and financial support as we
have prepared for this journey, and we are very excited to be underway. You can
learn more about this Heifer program at: http://www.heifer.org/what-you-cando/experience-heifer/heifer-ranch/index.html.
SUNDAY SCHEDULE
Sunday School for All Ages………..9:15 am
Worship …………………….……….10:30 am
(Communion is the 1st Sunday of every month)
SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE
Every Sunday (Sept-May)
9:15 a.m.: Adult Sunday School, Pastor’s Class, Youth Sunday School, Having Faith in Turbulent Times Class
10:45 a.m. (in worship 10:30-10:45 a.m.):Children’s Sunday School, Infants & Preschool Sunday School
STAFF:
Dennis Alexander………………….….………………..………………........... Pastor
Kaite Knack…...……....………………………..…..…. Administrative Assistant
Eric Buck ……………………………………………………….......... Youth Director
Phyllis Carlson ……………………………….………………......…………. Organist
Midwest Special Services …………….....…………….…………... Custodians
Church Office: 651.774.8736
Church e-mail: secretarympumc@yahoo.com
Office Hours: M/W/TH/F 9:00a-1:00p
Web Site: www.moundsparkumc.org