Volume 56, Issue 5

Christ Evangel

Pastor’s Message 2

An opportunity to

help

3

Mission of the

Month

4

Renovation

Update

5

CUMC in Action 6-7

Events 8

For the Kids 9

Mobile Giving 10

Finance Report 11

Goodbye from

Kara

12

Inside This Issue

During this time of staying at home, we are

worshiping online at 10am every

Sunday morning. Worship will be done

via Facebook Live. (You do not need to

have a Facebook account to go to our

page or watch the service.) The majority

of our services will be broadcast live from

the sanctuary. There will be some

occasions when we will pre-record some of our worship services to

allow for all participants to be present or to better utilize

technology. Services from previous weeks are available for

viewing on our Facebook page, under videos.

Links to the service can be found on our webpage

(www.cumclansdale.org) or you can go to our Facebook page—

www.facebook.com/cumclansdale/. Click on the videos option

on the left hand menu. You will then see a video labeled “live”.

Click on that. If asked to set up an account, click “not now”.

A Zoom account has been purchased by the church to be used for

meetings and gatherings online. Sunday school, choirs, book

groups, transformation groups and other groups are using this to

stay connected. If you would like to know if your group is

meeting, find the calendar on our website or email the church

office.

Christ United Methodist Church 1020 S. Valley Forge Rd. Lansdale, PA 19446

Stay at Home, but Stay Involved

Following the best guidance we have, Christ UM Church will con-

tinue physical distancing practices in May. Worship services will be

offered on line each Sunday and be available throughout the week

for those who are not able to view them then. We are asking our

small groups, ministries and committees to gather virtually. Please

keep the office, secretary@cumclansdale.org, informed about what

your group is doing so the website and Rundown can accurately re-

flect all that is going on. The building will be closed, although the office will continue to

function. All outside groups who use the church are also being asked to continue to find

other ways to meet and achieve their mission.

Continuing Our Physical Distancing in May

2

I am finding it so hard to live physically separated from all

of you and not knowing when we will ever be able to be in

each other’s presence again. I miss you all. I knew with my

retirement coming, the experiences we were going to

share together were going to be limited, but I never

dreamed that it would begin suddenly mid-March. As I

write this on April 15, I do not know if we will be worship-

ing together by my final Sunday, June 7, or not.

How strange to do my last Holy Week and Easter as a pas-

tor online! But I am so grateful that we have tools like

Facebook Live and Zoom so we can still worship and study

and meet together. The love in this congregation still flows. We must be sure not to forget

those who are not linked in to the internet and send cards and make phone calls.

The phrase from Paul’s letters “making the most of the time” has come to my mind repeat-

edly. How can we make the most of the time we are passing through? In Colossians 4 he

uses it to encourage believers to use all the opportunities God gives to make their witness

to Jesus. Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let

your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought

to answer everyone.

In Ephesians 5 he uses the phrase to warn believers to avoid temptation and continue to

do what is right. Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making

the most of the time, because the days are evil.

How might we apply the phrase in our time? This time of “social distancing” and “sheltering

in place” has given many of us more time with fewer people, whoever composes your

household. How do we make the most of that time? What activities can we share together

we just did not take the time to do before, but would enable us to grow deeper and be

supportive and have fun?

This time can also give us the opportunity to stop and enjoy creation around us rather

than rushing on past. Be intentional in focusing on the beauty around you. Stop and no-

tice. This is an opportunity to make the most of the time developing your spiritual habits.

Set aside focused time to pray. Create a prayer list, maybe a gratitude list. Read your Bible.

Start a spiritual journal and write to God. Use your creative gifts as an expression of wor-

ship and love to Jesus. Seek a mentor and find someone to mentor. Choose a place of ser-

vice. Raise your voice for justice regularly.

Make the most of the time. Is this time a burden? Yes, of course in many ways. Does this

time provide unique opportunities? Yes. Make the most of the time.

Pastor Gary Nicholson

A Message from the Pastor

3

A Unique Opportunity to Help Many of us have recently received or will be receiving a bank

deposit or check from the government for $1200 or more for

families. For some it will be timely and a true help when salaries or

hours have been cut or a layoff or furlough has taken place. But

others have not experienced any direct negative financial impact

from the pandemic. Given time, investments will come back and

today’s income is still adequate.

But we still have received the money from the government.

Perhaps you would like to find a way to help out those who will

not be receiving a check or for whom the check is inadequate. Christ UM Church has two

tools it uses to help people who are financially distressed.

Members and people from the community can receive grants to pay specific bills through

our Helping Hand Fund. These gifts can be given once every 120 days with a maximum of

$1000 in a twelve-month period. No money is given directly to the one making the request,

but after confirming the need and being sure there is no other community resource to

address it, the bill or bills are paid directly.

The church also has a Loan Fund. It differs from the Helping hand Fund in that it is only

available to church members. It is also a loan and the recipient is expected to pay it back

so the money can be available to some other family in need in the future. There is no

interest on the loan and it can be paid back on whatever schedule the individual or family

can afford, but all should be repaid no later than ten years. Loans can be greater than

$1000.

You may make a gift to either of these funds by check through the mail or on the web site.

Make checks out to the church. Clearly mark which fund you would like to contribute to.

These gifts may be tax deductible.

Those who desire help from one of the funds should contact one of the pastors.

Care Ministries Update

Our Hands and Feet Ministry is ready to lend a hand with essential errands-

please contact Marge Kramer, director of congregational care

marge.kramer@cumclansdale.org or 215.429.8881 with your need, which

we will do our best to meet.

These events will be rescheduled when it is again safe to gather:

>The Basics: Wills and Other Documents Everyone Should Have

>Healthy Steps in Motion

>CarFit

4

Mission of the Month: Blue Rose Mission Blue Rose Mission is located in Mansfield, Ohio. Since 2008, the

Mission has been showing the love of Jesus through home

repair for those in need. The Mansfield area is located in a

blighted area of the rust belt and in some sections of the city

the poverty rate is 35%. Blue Rose has helped over 150 home

owners with repairs from electrical work, plastering, painting to

building steps. Started by a group from Main Street United

Methodist, they saw an immediate need in their area. With the help of some other UM

churches, the Mission was formed and now it actively serves God’s people to improve their

living situations for enhanced safety and well-being.

Most of the work is done with the help of work teams from many different areas and

states. Last year our youth group’s mission trip was to Blue Rose. The youth had a

wonderful experience working together to help others. It was an easy decision to go back

again this year.

The money raised in the month of May will go directly to Blue Rose Mission to help

purchase building supplies and a variety of needed items so that they can continue their

work at no cost to the homeowners they help. Please give as generously as you can. Many

thanks!

Pastor Gary and Pastor Tawny will be offering a Zoom, online

class for those considering joining Christ UMC in May. The class

will be from 7:00 to 8:15 on Wednesdays, 5/6, 5/13, and 5/20.

The class will give you a chance to meet the pastors, some of

our church leaders, and others who want to know more about

being a member.

The class will help you learn about the church, its programs to serve you and assist you in

serving others. It will give you tools to grow in your own faith and build relationships. At

the end of the three weeks you will be free to decide if now is the time and CUMC are the

people with whom you want to join in serving the Lord.

If you are interested, contact by April 30 either Pastor Gary, 215-738-7752,

gary.nicholson@cumclansdale.org, or Pastor Tawny, 717-371-1663,

tawny.bernhardt@cumclansdale.org.

Have you been thinking about joining Christ

Wise Words from the Welcome Ministry Whether we are again greeting each other in the lobby or in the pews, or

are limited to phone calls, cards and e-mails, it's important to stay

connected.

During this time of isolation, knowing that we are remembered is more

important than ever. Reach out to a member of our church family-make

someone's day!

5

An Update From Your Building Renovation Time flies! It is hard to believe that we recognized the completion of

the building renovation projects with our celebration service on Janu-

ary 7, 2018. Since that time, the Renovation Enabled Ministries Team

has been working to make our updated facility more friendly, more

functional and more accessible.

We started our process off with key focus groups with our church

community so we were better equipped to know your concerns and

areas of improvement. We thank you for your participation and ongo-

ing feedback to allow us to be more knowledgeable and responsive

around our church and community needs.

To assist with increased communication, we added kiosks to our expanded lobby which

are not only a place for information access but also a key location for sign-ups. We have

installed two bulletin boards, one for community events and happenings and one for our

church family. To assist with publishing upcoming events, we placed acrylic sign holders

throughout the building, allowing for ease of creating and placing event announcements.

And of course, these communications are also available online through the church website.

We have taken steps to help both members and visitors recognize and greet each other

with CUMC name tags and easy to access metallic name tag storage racks. We continued to

respond to your feedback and created directional signs in the lobby and assigned room

numbers to allow for communicating the location of Sunday school classes, nurseries,

bathrooms and more.

One of the most visible and well-used accomplishments have been furnishing the Café, the

conference table alcove and the living room seating in the second alcove in the lobby. We

have received significant feedback from you that these enhancements have been especially

beneficial, which is obvious based upon their use! The café and alcoves frequently encour-

age impromptu and scheduled gatherings.

In support of many of our outreach efforts, we purchased and installed collections cabinets

in the lobby. We added cabinets for our ushers to store the many items that they need to

assist with our church services and events. We installed blinds in the lounge to allow for

privacy and ease of use for this location. These furnishings are all being put to good ser-

vice.

Back by popular demand is the pastors’ picture gallery, with updated frames and name

plaques. We enhanced our lobby and café areas with inspirational wall art and the Cross

and Flame appliqué between the entry doors, and we reinstalled the reminder when you

exit that “You are now entering YOUR Mission Field.”

It appears that we are rounding the bend with our list of requests with one final location to

develop – our well-used lounge area. In the next month or so, we will be installing a wall

mounted TV to service the many meetings and discussions that occur in that setting. After

that, we will pause to await funds to update the furniture in the lounge to better support

that environment.

Respectfully submitted, Your Renovation Enabled Ministries Team

6

CUMC in Action While Still Staying Home

Chancel Choir likes to hang out, singing or not!

R-Gang is chillin’!

Wednesday night kids fun!

Our men’s group enjoying time with each other

The Shelton family getting ready for

the Holy Thursday service.

7

We May Be Home, But We Can Still Help

Joanne Cowles and many

others are making masks

to donate to facilities who

are in extreme need!

Belle Chelton’s Girl

Scout troop col-

lected food for

Pennridge FISH, the

food pantry in Per-

kasie.

Have you been concerned that Rev. Nicholson is preaching to an empty sanctuary? Do not

worry! He has plenty of company. In case you missed it, here are some pictures of his

“congregation” the last few weeks!

They arrived Palm Sunday.

On Easter,

they came

back! And,

they wore

their nicest

Easter acces-

sories.

April 19 was going

to be the Great Day

of Ringing. Our

“congregation” did

not let us down!

The “Congregation” that’s in Our Sanctuary

Alf and Sheldon

brought their

FRAN(K)!

April 26, the SON must have been bright and

spectacular! The “congregation” has on their

sunglasses.

8

Save the date! 13th Annual Jim Hayes Memorial Golf Outing will be

June 6, 2020. All are welcome. We will be playing at Mainland Golf Course

with fellowship, snacks, and prizes after golf. The first tee time will

be about 8:30 AM. More information will be published soon. We are

looking for prizes and would appreciate donations. If you have a donation,

suggestion, or a question, please contact Don Albacker at (215) 692-2958

or dlalbacker@comcast.net. It may be the first round we get to play but please say a

prayer that we all start back to normal soon.

GriefShare continues online. If you need support as you grieve a loss,

we invite you to become a part of this group. Register on the church

website www.cumclansdale.org. You'll find the link under Events and

Signups. Registration fee is $20 (scholarships are available.) We can

arrange for you to pick up a workbook at the church office. If you have a

friend or family member who would benefit from GriefShare, extend an

invitation.

Adult Summer Sunday School - No one knows when we will be able to

gather physically again, but now is the time to begin planning for our adult

Summer Sunday School, whether it is in person or virtual. Do you have an

idea for a class? Would you be interested in leading a study? Is there some-

one you would recommend as a teacher?

Our current classes will continue online through June. The Summer term will

run for ten weeks from July 5 to September 6. Please return your ideas or

step forward and volunteer by May 10.

Contact Pastor Gary, 215-738-7752, gary.nicholson@cumclansdale.org,

or one of our small group coordinators:

Nanci Landes, 215-855-4378, landesns@verizon.net, or

Paul Bernhardt, 717-808-9205, pwbernha@gmail.com.

Join Us!

Adult Sunday School is still meeting via Zoom! We have two classes offered.

The first is our Bible Study class, meeting at 9am. Our second class is cur-

rently doing a book study and meets at 11am. For information on how to at-

tend, email the office.

Special Church Conference - Tuesday, May 5, at 7 pm. The Committee on

Nominations will be presenting its recommendations of committees and

offices and people to serve in them starting July 1, 2020. Nominations

may also be made from the floor. All church members are invited to at-

tend through Zoom. See the Monday Rundown, Friday Update or contact

the office for the link.

9

For the Kids

Sunday School: Children’s Sunday School is online! We will continue to

have Sunday School each week, at 9:15am, until we are back in the

building again. To join us, contact Pastor Tawny.

Thursday Night Fun: Pastor Tawny is starting to do some fun activities

on Thursday nights, at 6:15pm, each week on ZOOM so that our kids

get a chance to see each other a little more. To join us, contact Pastor

Tawny.

Kids’ Camp VBS

VBS Kids’ Camp Registration is open! Although we know a lot of

details and plans are up in the air right now, our hope is that we will

still be able to run Knights of North Castle this summer, July 13th -

17th . There is a morning session from 9-Noon and an evening session

from 6-8:30pm. Children 4 years old (by September 1st, 2020) through

sixth grade are invited to participate. You won’t want to miss this

great opportunity for your children to experience God’s abundant and

faithful love at VBS Kids’ Camp.

Invite your children, grandchildren, neighborhood children, and

anyone else you know to come experience this exciting adventure as

we hear Bible stories that impact our children’s lives, sing catchy

songs, create cool crafts, play awesome games, and eat delicious and

fun snacks.

We still need many volunteers to make kids’ camp VBS a success. Our biggest needs

right now are:

An evening dinner coordinator/cook to organize and prepare the evening meal each

night. This meal serves the children and their families as well as the volunteers that

participated.

Daytime crew leaders to guide the children from station to station

If working with children isn’t a particular interest for you but you would be willing to

help in other ways, please let me know. We are always looking for extra people to come

in the afternoon to set up, move items around, and other odds and ends that come with

a large church event.

Please contact Pastor Tawny to learn more about any of these roles!

Register your child to participate at https://2020.cokesburyvbs.com/christumclansdale

10

CUMC is adding a new method to make giving remotely even

more convenient—Mobile Giving. It is an easy, secure way to

donate at any time from any place.

To Begin: Download the FREE “GivePlus Church” app on your

Apple or Android device

To Use This Method Just Once:

1) Enter the church name or zip code or tap “Find churches near me” and select CUMC (be

sure it is our CUMC in Lansdale, PA !!)

2) Select “Give Now”.

3) Choose a fund, frequency and starting donation date.

4) Select a preset amount or enter another desired amount. Tap “Add”

5) Tap the + to donate to another fund or “Next” to move on to the payment information.

6) Enter your checking or savings account information.

7) Review your donation summary, and then select Complete Donation.

To Use This Method Repeatedly:

1) If you have already set up a profile on the church’s donation page to donate electroni-

cally, log in with your email and password. Proceed as above.

2) If you have not yet set up a profile on the church’s donation page to donate electroni-

cally, create an account with an email address and password.

Please Note: Having an account will allow you to review past donations, edit scheduled do-

nations or update/add payment methods.

Mobile Giving is Here

What do you call a rich fish? Find the correct answer within the text of I Peter 1:3-9 (NRSV).

Reaching stiffly for the sky, I bare my fingers when it's cold. In warmth I wear an emerald

glove, and in between I dress in gold. What am I? Find the correct answer with the text of

Matthew 21:1-11 (NRSV).

Until I am measured I am not known. Yet how you miss me when I have flown. Find the an-

swer within the text of Colossians 4:5-6 (NRSV).

Spring is trying to peak out and with it comes ladybugs. Can you find all 27 ladybugs in

this issue of the Evangel?

A Little Fun While We are Staying at Home

Gold, Tree, Time

11

March Finance Report

Dear Members and Friends of CUMC,

Shown above is our church financial summary report for the month of March 2020 including three-

month year-to-date results. Operating Budget receipts of $51,183 in March with expenses of

$36,162 resulted in a surplus of $15,021 for the month. After the first three months not shown

above is $2,791 received in March for the Mission-of-the-Month projects of the year, Even though

March was a great month, the Operating Budget continues to be “in the red” by $16,475. Our first

three months giving to the Mortgage Fund is in the positive by $10,623. Not shown above is $2,522

received in March for the Mission-of-the-Month project. Thank you for your continuing financial sup-

port of our church ministries, missions, programs during the difficult Covid-19 Social Distancing time.

Judi Plummer—Chairperson, Finance Committee

We welcome Laura Soda to our Christ UMC staff as our new Administrative Assistant! She

begins on Monday, May 4th and will be in the office daily from 9:30am-1:30pm. Laura is

married to Gene and the have 2 children—Sophia and Gene.. She loves going to the mov-

ies and all things Disney. Be sure to say hi when you see her.

Welcome, Laura Soda!

12

Contact Us!

1020 S. Valley Forge Road, Lansdale, PA 19446

Church Website www.cumclansdale.org

Church Phone 215-855-1643

Preschool Phone 215-412-7836

Church E-mail secretary@cumclansdale.org

Trustees E-mail trustees@cumclansdale.org

Prayer Concerns prayers@cumclansdale.org

CUMC STAFF

Rev. Gary Nicholson, Pastor gary.nicholson@cumclansdale.org

Rev. Tawny Bernhardt, Pastor of Children’s Ministries tawny.bernhardt@cumclansdale.org

Pastor Eric Chelton, Assistant Pastor of Student Ministries eric.chelton@cumclansdale.org

Marge Kramer, Director of Congregational Care marge.kramer@cumclansdale.org

Miki Chelton, Director of Music miki.chelton@cumclansdale.org

Mary Conroy, Preschool Director mary.conroy@cumclansdale.org

Kristin Iseman, Church Office Manager kristin.iseman@cumclansdale.org

Laura Soda, Administrative Assistant secretary@cumclansdale.org

See our full staff list on our website.

Dear Christ UMC,

When I applied for the job as administrative assistant/

secretary in 2016, I knew that I was applying for more than

a job, but for a mission. What I didn't know was the amount

of friendship and love that would come my way, through

you. All of you have been so kind and welcoming since day

one. You were patient with me as I learned the ins and outs

of my role, open minded as I made changes to how some

things "have always been done", and forgiving when I

messed up. So many of you boosted my confidence through

your continuous praise and appreciation. Thanks to you,

this job has been the best I have ever experienced.

Your passion for the missions of the church, and one another, is obvious and inspiring. I

hope that I truly was a help to each of you in your ministry endeavors. Thank you for allow-

ing me to serve you and for your understanding as I take some time to focus my energies

elsewhere.

Love,

-Kara Johnson

A Note from Kara