My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become

angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. (James 1:19-20) A significant part of my spiritual growth over the past several years has been to practice James’ advice. This has led me to a fresh appreciation of the distinction between reacting and responding. Reactivity leads to dissent, division, discord, polarization, and the “human anger (which) does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” Responsiveness, on the other hand, shows respect especially for the one with whom I am in disagreement and invites dialogue through which we both may learn and grow. Being responsive shows that the relationship is more important than the matter being discussed/debated. In the matter of the Supreme Court decision regarding same-sex marriage, I choose the course of responsiveness. My role as senior pastor is to lead in such a way that we remain united and do not allow this or any matter to polarize us. Christianity has a long history of passionate debate, dating to the very beginning of the Church. If you’ve ever served on a church board, finance committee, worship committee, or “color of the carpet” committee, you probably know what I’m talking about. Sometimes debate leads to division and alienation; other times it leads to growth, understanding, and greater appreciation of those who do not share our viewpoint. This latter result comes when we enter and leave debate as friends and fellow members of the body of Christ, and when we remain committed to the relationship no matter what. I have never used the pulpit as a bully pulpit and don’t intend to start now. I will gladly have a conversation with anyone who re-quests it. There is a blog by a UM pastor in North Carolina called “Till Death Do Us Part” that, of all the things I’ve seen in print since the decision, most closely aligns with my feelings. I’m certain you can easily Google it. The pastor’s name is Jeremy Troxler. Meanwhile, I will continue to lead a great congregation where “Everyone Welcome” means just that, and where anyone who comes forward to profess Christ as Lord and take the vows of church membership will be welcomed into the fellowship of our congregation. Sincerely, Milton Lewis Senior Pastor

g

2 Blood Mobile 5-6 Youth Dallas Trip 7 Summer Movie Series, 6 p.m. Worship Center 9 NLDF and Adult Special Needs Luncheon, noon 10 Network Deadline UMW La Roca Circulo de Esperanza, 6:15 p.m. UMW Hope Circle, 6:30 p.m. UMM meeting, 7 p.m. 11 UMW Circle of Love, noon—2 p.m., Acts 1 12 Youth Stockholder’s Mission Recap, 6:15 p.m., Worship

Center 13 Mid-high Living Water weekend 14 Summer Movie Series, 6 p.m., Worship Center 16 Sonshine Project items due 18 Network Folders, 9 a.m. 21 Summer Movie Series, 6 p.m., Worship Center 23 Blessing of the Backpacks 27 Day School Open House, 6 p.m. 31 Emmaus Gathering, 6:30 p.m., Acts Café/kitchen

The Moving On group will be meeting at Pompeii Italian Grill

on August 15th at 11:00 a.m. The restaurant is located at

16109 Nacogdoches Road. The Moving On group is an affini-

ty group for widows and widowers that meets on the third

Saturday each month for great fellowship and good

food. You are welcome to join us! Please RSVP to Maxine

by noon on the 14th at 967-0294 .

August 5: Parmesan chicken panini, chips, salad August 12: Enchiladas, rice, beans

August 19: Poblano chicken, rice, veggies August 26: BBQ chicken, beans, potato salad

5:30 p.m.: Supper Lite

6:15 p.m.: Worship Sanctuary: Prayer, speaker, songs, Communion

Worship Center: La Roca

See back page for details.

Save the date! October 23-25

Lazy Hills Retreat and Conference Center Ingram, TX (near Kerville)

(_______) aUgUsT

These figures include Wednesday worship and all Sunday morning worship services.

6/7: 988 6/14: 739 6/22: 781 6/28: 828

Choir practice resumes Wednesday, August 19! Join us at 7 p.m. in the Sanctuary to prepare for the Fall.

Join us this summer for fellowship, movies and fun! FREE admission at Northern Hills Worship Center—6 p.m.

Bring your own chair/blanket Hotdogs, concessions—$1

Concession proceeds benefit NHUMC Missions

July 31: Big Hero 6 August 7: Home

August 14: Cinderella August 21: How to Train Your Dragon

“Yo me alegré con los que me decían: A la casa de Jehová iremos.” Salmo 122:1 “I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” Psalm 122:1

Dios ha sido bueno con nosotros y nos ha permitido tener un ministerio bilingüe entre nosotros llamado La Roca@NHUMC/ God has been good to us and He has allowed us to have a bilingual ministry among us called La Roca@NHUMC. Este ministerio envuelve diferentes actividades/ This ministry involves several activities. Tenemos desde clases de idiomas, culto de oración, celebraciones Hispanas hasta un culto todos los domingos con comunión. /We have language classes, prayer worship services, Hispanic celebrations and a weekly Sunday worship service with communion. Lo que tiene este culto domincal como una característica especial es que se habla 100% Inglés y 100% Español. / The uniqueness of this Sunday service is that we speak 100% English and 100% Spanish. Nuestro propósito es acompañar en el crecimiento de la fe en nuestro Dios a gente de diferentes culturas. Eso quiere decir, a aquellos que hablan Inglés,o hablan Español, o hablan ambos idiomas, o que quieren practar su Inglés o Español mientras que alaban al Señor./ Our purpose is to be able to walk in accompaniment with people from different cultures in the growth of their faith in our God. That means, we want to reach out to those who speak just English, just Spanish, speak both languages, and those who want to practice their English or Spanish while worshiping the Lord. Te invitamos a participar e invitar a tus amigos para que tenga-mos una “probadita” de lo que gozaremos en el cielo: Donde estaremos reunidos confesando a Jesús como Señor en diferentes lenguas (Filipenses 2) / We invite you to participate and bring your friends so we can “taste” what we will enjoy in heaven: Where we will all be united, confessing in every tongue that Jesus Christ is Lord. Cultos Dominicales: 1:11 P.M. a 2:11 P.M. en el Santuario/Sunday Worship Services 1:11 to 2:11 p.m. in the Sanctuary Para mayor información/For more information: ministerio@nhumc.org

We continue to have a presence at the Ministry Center on the 18th of each month. On June 18, we handed out snacks and water bottles and several of the Youth joined in the effort! Judging by the number of water bottles we handed out, we connected with more than 100 people between the events on May 18 and June 18 (there were also many people who didn’t take a water bottle but did enjoy a cookie!).

“My heart was so moved by the attitude of eagerness that the youth showed. As soon as they saw a bus stopping they would run to look for the people (to the point that adults needed to be alert not to let them go by themselves)! I pray they will never lose that spirit of eagerness to serve others.” - Pastor Lupina

Summer is in full swing now, and those who plan for the future are already looking forward to the many activities being presented this fall. By the way, wasn’t our summer Bible study great? This fall we have an opportunity to study Jesus from a different perspective: Jesus the Teacher, Jesus the Preacher, Jesus the Healer and Jesus the Miracle Worker, to mention a few of His gifts, as He is presented in each of the Gospels. The program is entitled Jesus in the Gospels, and was planned to a large degree by Dr. Leander Keck, who also figured prominently in the Disciple Bible Study Series. This is a different approach, and promises a lot of learning for the serious student. There are other new things includ-ed with this study, led by Gene Bixler, and presented on Monday evenings. Because it requires about 2 to 2.5 hours in meeting each week, it simply won’t fit on Wednesdays. An information meeting is planned for August 17, 6:30 p.m., in the Acts Café. There will be copies of several items (a handbook, an interest form, a Read to Think Theological-ly guide and a Tentative Course Calendar). We will decide on dates and time of the class at this meeting (the tentative plan is to meet at 6 p.m. on Mondays beginning September 14 and running until mid-April). The class materials will be ordered from Cokesbury after we have a class roster. For further information, please feel free to contact Gene at 210-618-7187.

o

Education and Support Group On Grieving the Loss of a Friend or Loved One

Grief can be a very powerful and overwhelming experience that changes your life. Understanding and compassion from others can take you on a journey of discovering healing and meaning in your life again “Life After Loss” is a group support program that was designed by the American Cancer Society to help bereaved people better understand the process of grief and how to live through it in a way that transforms them. It also provides a place for people to share their experiences and support each other in their jour-neys. Northern Hills United Methodist Church will be offering a Life After Loss Group beginning Monday, September 14, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The Group will meet at this time for six con-secutive Mondays, through October 19. The group will be facili-tated by Celeste Miller of Porter Loring Family Care Services and Gene Bixler, of Northern Hills UMC Grief Support Group.

Celeste Miller, MA, has served as a hospice chaplain and finds her work in death, dying and healing to be a sacred privilege. She has worked with Porter Loring Mortuaries eight years in Aftercare and is currently Bereavement Coordinator for Porter Loring Family Care Services. May, 2013, she graduated from the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest, Austin, Texas, with a Master of Arts in Counseling. She is currently working as a LPC-Intern under the supervision of Art Kirby, LMFT, LPC., This program will be a combination of teaching, discussion and learning activities. The sessions are open to those who have experienced the loss a loved one, and there is no charge for the program. If you would like to know more about this program, you can call Gene Bixler at 210 618-7187 to reserve a space, or meet with us on a Wednesday evening between 4 and 5 PM, when our Grief Support Group meets in the Acts Café, or feel free to simply join us on September 14, at 11:30.

Jesus in the Gospels Class o New Members

Shauna Garner Ted and Nancy Rogers

Bruno, Judy, Sarah Melton

Britan and Robert Schons Gregg Taylor

Thank you to everyone who participated in Project Transformation! The volunteers from NHUMC that had dinner with the interns learned so much from their multicultural back-ground. Many shared how they want to transform their communities through their education and relationship with God.

Each year at NHUMC VBS, the children are encouraged to bring loose change and money (and just for fun, there’s always a friendly-competition between the boys and girls) to go toward a charitable cause. This year, the money went to help purchase supplies for Project Transformation, and the interns were so thankful for our contributions.

Dinner with the interns Reading Buddies

New Kindergarteners: Room 8

New 1st-3rd graders: Room 10 in the Children’s Hall

New 4th and 5th graders: Children’s Room 14

Each year we provide opportunities for NHUMC to help supply the ongoing needs of our friends from the Miller Center and our commu-nity. Visit the gathering area begin-ning August 2, take a request tag from the school bus and bring the items back (unwrapped) by August 16. Send a child to school with all the “supplies” to succeed!

Join us for a fun night for families to cool off, fellowship, eat pizza

and swim before “diving” back into school!

Monday, August 3, 6-8 p.m. Shadow Cliff Pool

15110 Eagle Grove, 78232 Pizza and drinks provided

Just bring your towel and floaties

Times and rooms to be announced.

k August 2: Sonshine Project starts

August 3: Back to School Swim Party

August 13: Last day of Kids Kamp

August 16: PJ Sunday

August 23: Backpack Blessing

August 24: NEISD 1st day of school

September 2: Hispanic Heritage Celebration

and Children’s Ministry Open House

September 3: Day School Open House

September 8: First day of NH Day School

September 9: Kids Choirs and BAT resume

Back by popular demand! Sunday, August 16, take advantage of a few extra minutes of sleep. Kids wear your PJs to Sunday School and we’ll feed you a light break-fast! Room 11 in the children’s hall, 9:00 –10:50 a.m.

Sunday, August 23

We want to send our kids—preschoolers, elementary, middle and high school—back to school with a special blessing. Bring your children with their backpacks to worship at 8:30, 9:45 or 11 a.m. for a blessing of the backpacks. They will be dismissed to Sunday School afterward.

k September 2 will be a fun night at Northern Hills! Our Hispanic Heritage Celebration will

begin with a delicious Mexican dinner at 5:30 p.m., worship at 6:15 p.m. and the

Children’s Ministry Open House at 7 p.m. and a chance to swing a pinata at 7:30.

Come join the fun and learn more about Children’s Ministry at Northern Hills!

g We had a great time at HEB camp last week! Lots of laughter, memories made, games played, and learning from the Sermon on the

Mount. Our theme was “Conversations from the hillside” and we studied Matthew 5-6. It was a great getaway with the senior high. Some of the

highlights were the great adventure, including a watermelon pop, Milli Vanilli Contest, the Blue Hole, glow in the dark volleyball, and enjoying the stars, sights, and sounds of nature around us.

God is good!

2 Poolside Bible Study (combo) 5-6 Dallas trip: Rangers vs. Astros baseball game, Six Flags over Texas. Returning 10 p.m. on the 6th. Cost $50 (Combo) 12 Stock holders meeting 13-14 Living Water Weekend (Junior High) 16 Poolside Bible Study (Combo) 18 Serve at ministry center (combo)

Middle School: Wednesday, September 9

Grades 6-8 will meet on Wednesdays from 6:30-8 p.m.

High School:

Sunday, September 13 Grades 9-12 will meet on Sundays

from 6-7:30 p .m.

Northern Hills United Methodist Church

3703 N Loop 1604 E

San Antonio, TX 78247

For more information, please call the church office at 210-654-0881.