The RockOCTOBER 2011

VOLUME 22 ISSUE 10

If you no longer wish to receive The Rock, please call the Church office at 793.5712, ext. 10.

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WEST PALM BEACH, FL.PERMIT 29

St. Peter’s United Methodist Church12200 W. Forest Hill Blvd.Wellington, FL. 33414 Phone: 561.793.5712 Fax: 561.793.5848 www.stpeters-umc.org

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St. Peter’s United Methodist Church

St. Peter’s United Methodist Church ~ 12200 W. Forest Hill Blvd. ~ Wellington, FL. 33414

The Rock

REV. DR. RAINER RICHTER

“From the Pastor’s Desk”

The Pumpkins are coming! They will arrive by semi-truck on Sunday, October 2nd, at around noon. As usual, we need as many people as we can to help unload the truck and set the pumpkins up in our pumpkin patch. The St. Peter’s Pumpkin patch has become part of the fall tradition in Wellington mainly because without our pumpkin patch you probably wouldn’t know it’s fall in South Florida!

Over the years, we have seen thousands of people who have come to the pumpkin patch to select the perfect pumpkin to decorate their homes. What has been a blessing for us is that the pumpkin patch has been a door to our church. It is not unusual for someone to say in our new members class that they came to St. Peter’s through the pumpkin patch. In that way, our pumpkin patch is not primarily a fund-raiser as much as it has become a ministry to reach out to folks in our community.

Shelly and Christine have posted sign-up sheets in the classroom wing for you to volunteer at the pumpkin patch. The opportunity that we have is to connect with people. That’s what Jesus did in the gospels.

When you think about it, as Christians we are a lot like pumpkins! In a sense, God has picked us from the patch, brings us in, and washes all the dirt off of us. Then, as someone has said, “He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of fear, doubt, despair, hate and greed. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for the entire world to see.”

Speaking of the world – World Communion Sunday is October 2nd. I hope to see all you pumpkins in God’s pumpkin patch!

Grace & peace,

CELEBRATING TOGETHER AS THE BODY OF CHRIST AT ST. PETER’S

GREAT DAY OF SERVICE

Over 200 people participated in our Great Day of Service. It was a great success. All ages from youngsters to our seniors and our scout troops. Thank you to all those who volunteered to be project coordinators and those who participated.

PROJECT COORDINATORS:Paul Davisson - Lord’s Place; Children’s Home SocietyKristy Hoot - Making Sandwiches for Af-ter SchoolSharon Lasko - Project LinusKathy Siena - Visiting nursing homeGretchen Delagrange - Dividing rice CROSPeggy Larson - Homless Female Veter-ansAnn Lewis - Home Safe Libra GirlsMonica Hart - Baking cookies for fire/sheriff stationsSusan Gabriel - Baking cookies for fire/sheriff stationsJudith Palma - First CareShelly Albright - Books from the HeartSuzanne McCown - Books from the HeartAl Bennett - BreakfastDavid Boyer - Children’s Home Society

A MEMORIAL WAS GIVEN TO ST. PETER’S IN MEMORY OF

ESTELLE SANDERSONKen Sanderson

A MEMORIAL WAS GIVEN TO ST. PETER’S IN MEMORY OF

MARISSA MCKEEA. Nancy Smith

A MEMORIAL WAS GIVEN TO ST. PETER’S IN MEMORY OF

CHARLES H. LYNN JR.Rev. Shirley Lynn

A MEMORIAL WAS GIVEN TO ST. PETER’S IN HONOR OFREV. DR. RAINER RICHTER

Rev. Shirley Lynn

To All Our Wonderful Family:Thank you all for your love and prayers, and flowers for the long illness of Dreama Runyon. We felt God’s love through all of you. We are new members and pray to get involved. You have shown us the love that God has for all of us. God Bless you and continue your prayers. Dreama and Lucy Runyon

by Pat Banks Our Preschool is off to a wonderful start. The ini-tial tears have dried and the children are having a great time getting to know one another. We do have an openings in the 3 and 4 year old classes, if you or anyone you know is interested please have them call Pat at 798-3286.

Yes, we do have Fall in Florida! Take a peek in our preschool classrooms and you will see Fall leaves, pumpkins and other signs of Fall. The children are eagerly anticipating the pumpkin patch and can’t wait for their turn to visit Mr./Mrs. Scare-crow. The local Fire Fighters will visit C.E.C. this month for Fire Prevention Week. They will be teaching the children how to stay safe in case of a fire.

This month, in chapel, the children will be learn-ing how God created our wonderful world and all that is in it. The three year old classes will focus on “God created the heavens and earth.” Gen-esis 1:2. The four year old classes will learn the verse “God saw all that he had made and it was very good.” Genesis 1:31. The Parent Staff Fel-lowship hosted our first “Ice Breaker Pot Luck Dinner” on Sept 12. The gym was packed with families enjoying wonderful food and fellowship. A huge thanks to parent and staff volunteers for their hard work!

C.E.C. is blessed with a wonderful, hard working, creative staff. They love all the children in their care and they love the Lord. The following is a list of our terrific staff. Chris Abaldo, Pam Gilbert, Inez Feurich, Mandy Girard, LaDona Alvarez, Debbie DeLong, Michelle Bethune, Anne Riepma, JoAnn Vilonna, Jeanette Ingrahm, Lori Maxwell, June Zuehlsdorff, Lori Vendryes, Kim Dresselt, Pat Banks, Debbie Luongo, Damaris, Pam Flem-ing and Traci Picknell.

Music Notes By Joseph Farrar

Fall is moving on, and Christmas is getting closer. It seems like the year is flying by so quickly. Christmas Choir is meeting, and we still have room for you, if you want to take part in “The Nativity Experience.” We re-hearse on Wednesday nights at 8:00 and there is plenty of time to get involved. Childrens’ choirs have started back and are rehearsing on Friday afternoons at 5:00 pm.

The Bells of St. Peter’s are rehearsing on Thursday at 6:00. Speaking of the Bells, we would very much like to expand from our cur-rent set of 2 octaves of handbells to 3 octaves. This would mean purchasing a 3rd octave (12 bells) to add to the bells we already have. This group is doing a great job and is ready to expand its range and repertoire. The cost of the bells and additional equipment including much needed maintenance on the two octaves of bells we already own would cost approxi-mately $4,500. If this is a ministry that is near to your heart and you’d like to see it grow and expand, consider making a special gift to that end. Contact me at 561-793-5712, ext. 30.

Prayer Corner

Methodists have

“The Upper Room

Living Prayer Center”

prayer ministry with a

24-hr, toll-free

Prayer Line at: 1-800-251-2468

Here at St. Peter’s we have an

intercessory prayer group called the

“Pathway to God Prayer Team.”please email Nancy Benyon

at Snmma@aol.com

ATTENTION LADIES !!!!COME JOIN THERUTH CIRCLE!!

Ruth Circle is a group of retired ladies who come together in love and friendship, desir-ing to meet new people as they have a Bible study lesson and plan and work on ongoing projects such as visiting shut ins or someone who is ill. Please join us the first Monday of each month beginning in September at 10:30 am in room 101 in the Family Life Center. For more information you may contact Osie Dwyer at 793-6076.

A GREAT BIG THANKS! by Shelly Albright

When I approached the Prayer Shawl Ministry early this summer to make prayer shawls for the Children’s Sunday School teachers, I had no idea what an undertaking it would be for them. They worked lovingly and diligently all summer long to create beautiful shawls for each teacher. On Promotion Sunday, the teachers gathered together in the Fellowship Hall while the Prayer Shawl Ministry present-ed them a shawl and prayed over them. All their hard work made each Sunday School teacher feel special and blessed. My heartfelt thanks go out to these special women in our church. You can visit them hard at work on Wednesday evenings in room 108. I encour-age you to pick up a prayer shawl for anyone in need of love!

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ADULT MINISTRIESby Rachel Lever

LEESBURG WOMEN’S RETREATTheme: Promise of Hope

Registration deadline: September 29

For Who? Women of all agesWhat? A weekend of inspiring messages, dynamic music, and great fellowshipWhen? March 2-4, 2012Where? Life Enrichment Center, LeesburgCost? $155.00 (includes 2 nights lodging, 5 meals, program expenses)Deposit? $45.00 Make checks payable to Florida Conference Trea-surer, and send them to Rachel Lever. The re-treat registrar will begin processing registrations on October 1, so it is important that she have our checks as soon as possible!

BIBLE 1O1

Begins October 23, 11:00 AM

Are you a new Christian?Are you a new member of St. Peter’s?

Would you like to know more about the Bible?

If you answered “yes” to any of the questions above, you are encouraged to attend an eight ses-sion study entitled, Get Acquainted With Your Bi-ble. This class will help you learn a lot about the Bible in a short period of time. Monte Shelley, one of our popular teachers, will be leading the study. Please call Rachel Lever, 793-5712, ext. 21, or email her, rlever@stpeters-umc.org if you would like to participate in this study.

WEDNESDAYS AT ST. PETER’S

6:00 PM CHURCH DINNER, Fellowship HallGive the cook in your family a break! Join us, each Wednesday, for a delicious dinner at a rea-sonable cost. We charge $6.00 per adult (12 years and older) and $3.00 per child (under 12). You may make a reservation by completing the form in the Sunday bulletin OR by calling Deb-bie Ferrugio, 793-5712, ext. 13, by 10:00 AM on Tuesday.

7:00 PM PROGRAMMING for all ages-PandaMania for childrenCall Shelly Albright, 793-5712, ext. 29, for info-Small groups for youthCall Christine Oien, 793-5712, ext. 32, for info-Classes for adultsCall Rachel Lever, 793-5712, ext. 21, for info-Chancel ChoirCall Joseph Farrar, 793-5712, ext. 30, for info-Christmas Choir (begins at 8:00 PM)Call Joseph Farrar, 793-5712, ext. 30, for info

Please note:Childcare is available for parents who are at-tending classes or choir, but their children are too young for PandaMania. However, reservations are a must! Please call 793-5712, ext. 29, if you need this service.

COVERED DISH DINNER FOR WOMEN OF FAITH PARTICIPANTS

Hey, ladies! Join us for a covered dish dinner on Sunday, October 23, 5:30 PM, in Room 102. This gathering will give us an opportunity to get acquainted and to finalize plans for the Women of Faith weekend. Please call Rachel Lever, 793-5712, ext. 21, to indicate what dish you plan to bring.

YOUTH EVENTS IT’S PUMPKIN PATCH TIME!! !

They are arriving Sunday, Oct. 2nd! Please be here to unload at Noon!!! We will reward you with a free BBQ!!! We need everyone in the congregation to work together to make this the best year of the pumpkin patch yet! It is a great opportunity for St. Peter’s to make personal contact with the community, so please sign up and show people what we’re all about! This is also a big fundraiser to help send youth on mission trips and to summer camp. Youth can log their hours and earn credit toward a trip: 10-20 hours = $50; 21-40 hours = $75; 41 + hours = $100

*If you choose to use hours toward credit, they cannot count as community service You can earn hours from unload-ing pumpkins, working pumpkin patch shifts, baking bread, and helping with the Party in the Pumpkin Patch! Your parents’ hours can also count in addition to yours. Just make sure you correctly log them all under your name! This year we are having a REQUIRED Pumpkin Patch Training Session after unloading on the 2nd. We want the patch to be run as smoothly as possible; so all volunteers must attend this meeting! You will receive 1 hour for attending, as will parents. If you are out of town, attend the make up session Sunday, the 9th, during Snack Supper (6:30-7).

PARTY IN THE PUMPKIN PATCHSaturday, October 22nd 1-5pm, we will be hosting a Party In the Pumpkin Patch! We need youth volunteers to host carnival games for young children, face paint, assist with taking pictures, guard the bounce house, help with conces-sions, and more. Please sign up outside the Youth Office if you are able to help! These hours can count toward your credit or as community service!

ALL YOUTH HALLOWEEN DANCEThe annual All Youth Halloween Dance will be Friday, October 28th 8:30-11:30pm! Bring $7 + a non-perishable food item and wear your best costume! There will be yummy food, a costume contest with great prizes, classic fall party games, and more! We will have a special prize for whoever brings the most friends! You don’t want to miss it!

Youth is held from 5-6:30 for Middle School and snack supper at ($3) 6:30- 7, High School 7-8:30pm. Oct 2- Sunday School 9:30-10:30 Pumpkin Unloading at Noon! Free BBQ! Pumpkin Patch Training Session!

(NO YOUTH TONIGHT)

Oct 5- Small Groups 7-8

Oct 9- Sunday School 9:30-10:(Youth tonight) and Make Up Pumpkin Patch Training Session

Oct 12- Small Groups 7-8

Oct 16-Second truck of pumpkins scheduled to come! Sunday School 9:30-10:30 (Youth tonight)

Oct 19-Small Groups 7-8

Oct 22-Party In the Pumpkin Patch 1-5

Oct 23-Sunday School 9:30-10:30 (Youth tonight)

Oct 26-Small Groups 7-8

Oct 28-All Youth Halloween Party 8:30-11:30, $7 + non-perishable food

Oct 30-Sunday School 9:30-10:30 (Youth tonight)

If you would like to be added onto the Youth email list to receive updates on monthly activities, please let me know! Please contact me with any questions or comments at coien@stpeters-umc.org.

SUNDAY SCHOOL UPDATEPromotion Sunday was a huge success! We have a wonderful group of teachers this year who made the children feel welcome in their new classes. This year our Sunday School classes will be focusing on Bible verse memo-rization, The Lord’s Prayer and Mission Proj-ects. We will be holding contests for bible verse memorization. Every child will have the op-portunity to participate and be recognized for their achievements. Damaris Bayona has gra-ciously agreed to coordinate this new program. In each class our teachers will be teaching the Lord’s Prayer. Please reinforce this at home by helping your child practice and by explain-ing the true meaning of this prayer. Finally we will be working with the children to explain the importance of helping others through mission projects. We are very excited about all that is happening on Sunday mornings.

Join TeamKID/EES on October 28th from 6-8pm as we present PUMPKINPALOOZA! The Pumpkin Prayer Devotional will be featured as children celebrate the spectacularly special season in a fun and safe way. Kids will journey through St. Peter’s Pumpkin Patch, choose the perfect pumpkin to decorate, create harvest in-spired crafts, participate in a costume parade, and even compete in a pumpkin bread eating contest. We will be having a special guest DJ to lead us in games and dancing! THIS MONTH’S TEAMKID/EES WILL BE $7 TO HELP COVER THE COST.

St. Peter’s is the place to be on Wednesday nights! Our PandaMania program has gotten off to a great start. The registration for Panda-Mania is rolling. You can join in at any time. We just need to know if you are coming so we can have the proper count for dinner. PandaMania is held in the gym beginning at 6P.M. A light dinner will be served and costs $3. The program ends promptly at 8P.M. If you are interested in registering please contact Shelly Albright at sal-bright@stpetersumc.org.

Contact Information: Website: stpeters-umc.org Phone: 561-793-5712 Fax: 561-793-5848

Senior Pastor: Dr. Rainer G. Richter, Ext. 11 Rrichter@stpeters-umc.org

Assistant to Pastor: Rev. Rachel Lever, Ext. 21 Rlever@stpeters-umc.org Director of Music: Joseph Farrar, Ext. 30 Jfarrar@stpeters-umc.org

Director of Youth Ministry: Christine Oien, Ext. 32

Coien@stpeters-umc.org

Director of Children’s Ministry: Shelly Albright, Ext. 29 Salbright@stpeters-umc.org Director of CEC: Pat Banks, Ext. 17 Pbanks@stpeters-umc.org CEC Assistant: Pam Fleming Ext. 16

Secretary: Debbie Ferrugio, Ext. 13 Dferrugio@stpeters-umc.org Organist: Barbara Thompson Custodian: Ana Solis Our Missionaries: Russia Carol & George Steele Zambia Lorraine Enright Chosen People Ministries Boris & Irina Goldin Romania Sarah Davis, Walter WIlliams Light in the East Eitan & Kaitlin Bar Our Sister Church in Cuba Iglesia Metodista de Puerta de Golpe

OUR CHURCH MINISTRY TEAM

ACOLYTES WANTED! Our Acolyte team includes young people in grades 3 and up who serve during worship. These helpers wear special robes and assist with light-ing the altar candles, which symbolizes the presence of Jesus Christ entering into the worshiping community. When you serve God by serving as an acolyte, you are doing more than carrying a flame to the altar candles. You are symbolically bring-ing the light of Christ’s spirit into the worship service. I hope that by serving as an acolyte, you will be filled with a sense of spiritual mean-ing and fulfillment. You will make new friends, have fun, and through your commitment grow in service to our church. It is the custom in our church for acolytes to be young boys and girls who are in about the third through fifth grades. However, anyone may serve as an acolyte. To learn more about becoming involved in the acolyte program, please contact Monica Longo at 561.386.8213.

DID YOU KNOW?The acolyte ministry originated from Old Testament times. The Scrip-tures tell us of the prophet Samuel assisting Eli the priest, and of Eli-jah being assisted by Elisha. The word “acolyte” comes from the Greek word “akolouthos,” which means a servant or attendant who waits on another.

GOD’S R.E.I.G.N. FOREST

REACHING EVERY INFANT’S GREATEST NEED! The nursery IS GROWING! We are in need of additional helpers in the nursery! Please consider holding a baby once a month while their parents worship with St. Peter’s. Whether it be once a month or as a substitute, I would love to talk to you!

9:30 11:00Oct 2 Leigh or Gary Keaton Assistant NeededOct 9 Sue Olevitch Stella ThompsonOct 16 Loretta Hooker Assistant NeededOct 23 Amy Lamboy Val HarrisonOct 30 Assistant Needed. Assistant Needed

Swing on into God’s Reign Forest and join us on some wild adventures. Each Sunday brings a new memory and amaz-ing joy for everyone. I am looking for loving adults who would like to commit to one Sunday a month to help in the nursery. Please contact me if you would like more information. Jennifer Klinkowitz 603-1206

7TH ANNUAL SAMARITAN GOLF CLASSIC & ONLINE CHARITY AUCTION

BENEFITING THE COMMUNITY CHRISTIAN COUNSELING CENTER, A MINISTRY OF TRINITY UMC

AND ST. PETER’S UMC

We are seeking your support for the Community Christian Counseling Center’s Seventh Annual Samaritan Golf Classic. This year’s event is being held at Ironhorse Country Club on Saturday, November 5, 2011. There are four ways you can participate in our efforts this year:

**As a Golfer: Golf Tournament – November 5, 2011 – 11:30am Golfers per participant $125 (includes: Golf, Cart, Range Balls, Buffet dinner,

Awards, Putt for Dough, Big Break Challenge, Pitch for Dough, Hole-in-One prizes For all par 3s, Live Auction with great items at Deep Discounts, chance for door prizes

and Great Fellowship!**As an Attendee: Dinner and Auction Event – November 5, 2011 – 5:30pm

Attendees $30 per person includes Buffet Dinner, Live Auction with great items at Deep Discounts, chance for door prizes and Great Fellowship!

**As a Bidder: Online Charity Auction – October 21 – November 4, 2011 www.biddingforgood.com/samaritangolfclassic

Great items available at Deep Discounts! **Donate money or an item for the Auction and/or Raffle

The Samaritan Golf Classic was established to assist people in need of professional faith-based counseling that otherwise could not afford it. Our services are available on a sliding fee scale that drops below the cost of providing the services. We even work with those who cannot afford the minimum fee on that scale. Historically those who have utilized these scholarship funds have been women in distress and children in crisis. But recently we have utilized those funds to assist the unemployed and the employed, but uninsured that are liv-ing on unsustainable income as well.

For more information contact:Ann Lewis 561-373-2347, somethingspecial1144@yahoo.com

Sheryl Beach 561-790-7225, sherylbeach@earthlink.netRhonda Stanek 561-596-7680, nutrixprt@gmail.com

UPWARDREGISTRATION Upward Basketball and Cheerleading provides a fun

environment built around healthy competition for kids, teaching skills for the sports arena and values for life.

IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER

FOR REGISTRATION Registration will be online this year go to

http://www.bluesombrero.com/stpetersumc Early registration is from September 1st to October 28th. The registration fee of $100 includes uniforms

and game snacks. Late registration is from October 30th to November 7th.

The late registration fee is $115.

NO REGISTRATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER NOVEMBER 7.