Soundings April 2018 - Cbtsumc

Soundings April 2018 3755 Hwy A1A, Vero Beach, FL 32963 772.231.1661 cbtsumc.org Cliff’s Notes To joyfully share the love of Christ as we WORSHIP GOD CONNECT TO GROW & SERVE THE WORLD Worship 2 Connect 3 Connect Serve 4 Stewardship 5 Endowment Finance Golf 6 Birthdays Anniversaries UMW 7 Calendar 8 But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples— and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you." —Mark 16:6-7 Do you need a second chance today? On the first Easter morning, Peter needed one. There in the Upper Room, he had insisted that he would never deny Christ. But just as Jesus had predicted, Peter not only denied the Lord, but he denied Him three times. The last glimpse Peter had of Jesus before His crucifixion was in the glow of the fire in the high priest's courtyard, where he actually made Rev. Cliff V. Melvin eye contact with Jesus. And then he went out and wept bitterly. What kind of look do you think Jesus gave Peter when their eyes met? Do you think it was one of those I-told-you-so looks? Do you think it was one of scorn, as if to say, "How could you betray Me?" I don't think it was either one. I think it was a look of love, a look of compassion that said, "I still love you, Peter." And I believe that is why Peter went out and wept bitterly. He had failed the Lord so miserably. He probably thought there was no hope for him. But then a message went out from the empty tomb that Jesus had risen, followed by these instructions, "Go, tell His disciples—and Peter. . . ." It was not, "Go tell the disciples, including Peter, James, and John. . . ." It was just Peter, because Peter needed a special word of encouragement. Do you need encouragement today? Maybe you have fallen short. You didn't plan on it, but it happened. And like Peter, maybe you 1 ended up with the wrong people in the wrong place at the wrong time, ultimately doing the wrong thing. God gave Peter a second chance. And God will give you one, too—because Easter is for the person who needs a second chance. Have a blessed Easter Season knowing you have a second chance and a third and a . Easter Offering Can you help us with a special offering this Easter Season to renovate the children’s playground? We hope to raise 30,000.

2 WORSHIP

CONNECT 3 “Caring Spouses” Is Now “Support for Caregivers” The support group, Caring Spouses, persons with spouses dealing with some form of dementia or cognitive impairments has expanded to include family members and others who care with a new name - Support for Caregivers. For the past two months, under the direction of Donna Wampler, Caring Spouses has proved beneficial to all in attendance. The group has provided a safe confidential space to share joys and concerns about living with and caring for persons with any form of Dementia or Memory Loss. Now the group will be expanding to include adult children, family members and others for the purpose of sharing constructive and compassionate thoughts and ideas. In the words of Donna, it is a “time to support and be supported.” It provides an opportunity for prayers and scriptures and the awareness that God is sovereign over all in the midst of suffering. We are thankful for the beginning under Donna’s leadership and as she leaves are grateful for new leadership from Dr. Jeanne Holmes-Buttner. Author and geriatrician Dr. John Dunlop writes in Finding Grace in the Face of Dementia: “Christians have unique resources to help them, including the wisdom and love of God that comes through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, the ability to pray for God’s comfort and help, and a church body willing to pitch in and assist. Perhaps above all else, caregivers who rely on God can appreciate the fact that they too, have a caregiver in heaven, the Lord Jesus.” Dr. Dunlop’s book along with The 36-Hour Day, by Nancy L. Mace and Peter V. Robins, and The Story of My Father, by Sue Miller are available for loan. Contact June Traylor x302 to borrow and consider joining the group which meets the first and third Thursdays of each month, 1:00pm in the Main Church Conference Room. Please feel free to invite friends and neighbors dealing with this as well. Join Splash Canyon Vacation Bible School Volunteer Staff At Splash Canyon VBS, June 25-29, God’s children learn the good news God is with us and keeps His promises to us on life’s wild ride! As staff members for Splash Canyon VBS, you have fun and the privilege of sharing this message with wonderful kids! There are many ways to be involved. Our pressing needs are for Decorations, Registrations, Group Leaders, and Bible Memory – but other opportunities are available as well. Call June Traylor (772) 231-1661 x302 for information or register as a Volunteer at the church web site: www.cbtsumc.org, click events, scroll to VBS and register as a volunteer. You will be contacted by VBS Director, Chris MacBeth.

4 CONNECT Cont. Meet The New Members Joining the group of nine from last week are: Priscilla James r ecently moved fr om Milfor d, CT wher e she was an active char ter member of the Irish Heritage Society. Raised in the Catholic Church in 2007 she found a wonderful church family at Mary Taylor Memorial United Methodist in Milford. There she served as Worship Chairperson and member of the Healing and Wholeness Team. Upon moving to Vero she began the task of condo renovations and now that they are complete she hopes to return to her favorite pastimes of travel, reading, walking and genealogy research. Betsy Ross was r aised with four br other s in a New J er sey subur b of Philadelphia and attended Moorestown Friends School. After college she moved 13 times in 10 years, landing in Washington DC in 1982, where she continued to develop a career in tourism. Life there included marriage (and divorce), raising a daughter, church activities and running a successful tour business. Betsy followed her parents to Vero Beach in late 2016. A seminary graduate, Betsy has jumped in to CBTS life in many ways including helping lead the current Women’s Bible Study. SERVE Serve Approves New Ministry At Christ by the Sea a Social Justice Team recently formed, under the leadership of Marion Czaja. Their objective is to explore and address contemporary issues applying a Christian vision of righteousness choosing as their initial focus: Human Trafficking, Racial Discrimination, Immigration and Elder Abuse. Our Serve Ministry approved adding this group to their roster of outreaches. Marion recently shared a report with the team from Sergeant Partee, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, indicating the primary Human Trafficking in Indian River County is sex mixed with drug trafficking. In attendance was Suzanne Kulscar, Human Trafficking Coalition Chair for Indian River, Okeechobee, St. Lucie and Martin Counties ,who reported the coalition’s efforts. She is available to provide training for community groups. Marion reports we join The United Methodist Church’s long history of concern for social justice as stated in the Book of Discipline: “It is our conviction that the good news of the Kingdom must judge, redeem, and reform the sinful social structures of our time.” The Social Justice Team’s next meeting will April 5, 3:30pm in the Main Church Conference Room. Please contact Marion Czaja (772) 205-2732, marionczaja@think.net if interested in participating.

5 FINANCE STEWARDSHIP –IT’S NOT APRIL FOOLS; April 1st means we are entering the last quarter of our budget year. We now have just three months remaining in which to reach this fiscal year’s mission goals and meet their funding needs. It also means we have a very busy three months to evaluate and prepare church missions and goals for the upcoming new fiscal year. IT’S GOOD NEWS . . . ESTIMATED FUNDING FOR NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET 21% 12% Pledged Offerings 1% Match Challenge 66% Stewardship efforts are off to a good start and help estimate funding for next year’s budget . Other Offerings Fees/Interst/Misc. Pledges would fund 66% of the budget. 174 pledges were offered, totaling 539,189 to date. 90% was received from full members, associates, and clergy and 10% from non-members. Although we gained 36 new pledgers, we also lost 35 people who pledged last year, but not this year. It’s not too late if you haven’t pledged yet. Match Challenge would fund 12% of the budget. It’s a great opportunity to meet the challenge in order to receive the budget boost. A generous donor challenged the congregation by matching gifts up to 50,000. Just give over and above your regular tithe and use the special pink envelope or send your check marked ‘CHALLENGE’. Non-pledge offerings would fund 21% of the budget. More than 175,000 in the budget relies on the exceptional generosity of our visitors and members who were unable to pledge. Other income includes fundraisers, interest earnings, and facility fees for non-church functions, funding 1% of the budget. Thank you for your generosity in making ministry happen!

6 ENDOWMENT As one of the newest members of the Endowment Committee, I’ve had many questions about our main responsibilities. Number one is, we should encourage CBTS members to contribute to the Endowment Funds, if you are able to do so. Funds overseen by the committee include the Endowment Fund, Organ Fund, Ed Kusel Discipleship Fund, and the Scholarship Fund. Distributions permitted from directed funds are used for the purpose of the ministries for which they were established. The Endowment Committee invests these funds in conservative instruments that consider safety of principal, diversification and reasonable growth and yields. Eighty percent of the committee must approve before investment is made. A professional financial advisor helps. Pastor Cliff guides us to make sure we are in compliance with rules of the Methodist Church. The committee does not disperse funds. This function is handled by recommendation for approval of the Church Council and Pastor Cliff. The Endowment Committee is simply the shepherd of these funds. We pray that we are worthy of doing this work for our church in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Endowment Committee Member; Robert Madsen Financial Summary (Snap shot of the numbers as of 02/28/2018) General Offering Annual fiscal year budget - 810,509 Giving year-to-date (07/01/2017 to 02/28/2018) - 527,617. SIGN UP NOW! FELLOWSHIP GOLF OUTING & DINNER May 12, 2018 1:30 PM Shotgun Start Have fun & Share time with wonderful people at this church fundraiser! For more information, contact: Dave Althoff— 772.234.6053 or sign up at: www.cbtsumc.org Scramble, Four Person Teams Dinner, Awards & Prizes—6:00 PM Open to all Church Members and Invitees Cost: 100 Per Player, Includes Golf & Dinner 30 Per Person, Dinner Only