PASTORS’ PEN

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies

as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God…this is your spiritual act of wor-

ship. Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed

by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:1, 2

“Finally brothers,, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever

is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable…if there is anything excellent

or praiseworthy…think about such things.” Philippians 4:8

Recently I received a book from a dear brother in the faith, that had touched his

heart and he was sharing it with me so that it might do the same thing for me…well,

it did! The book is “What I Learned From A Simple Blessing” with the sub-title

“The Extraordinary Power of an Ordinary Prayer.” The author is the talented and

Godly singer Michael W. Smith.

Here’s the prayer and/or blessing:

“In the name of Jesus Christ, I bless you with the promises of God which are

„yes‟ and „amen‟.

May the Holy Spirit make you healthy and strong in body, mind, and spirit to move in faith and expec-

tancy. May God‟s angels be with you to protect you and keep you.

Be blessed with supernatural strength to turn your eyes from foolish, worthless, and evil things, and to

shut out the demeaning and the negative. Instead may you behold the beauty of things that God has

planned for you as you obey His Word.

May God bless your ears to hear the lovely, the uplifting, and the encouraging. May your mind be

strong, disciplined, balanced, and faith-filled.

May your feet walk in holiness and your steps be ordered by the Lord. May your hands be tender and

helping, blessing those in need. May your heart be humble and receptive to one another and to the things

of God, not to the world.

God‟s grace be upon your home, that it may be a sanctuary of rest and renewal, a haven of peace where

sounds of joy and laughter grace its walls, where love and unconditional acceptance of one another is the

constant rule.

May God give you the spiritual strength to overcome the evil one and avoid temptation. May God‟s

grace be upon you to fulfill your dreams and visions. May goodness and mercy follow you all the days of

your life long.”

I’ve discovered over the years that it is not always what I do with my life that ultimately makes the difference in

my Christian life, but where I place myself (mentally, physically, spiritually) first, that really matters and makes

the true impact upon my life. There is nothing magical about this prayer…but if we allow it to take us into the

presence of God, and assist us to remember to wait upon the Lord, and then focus our thinking and our attention

upon its desires, the results will bless us! May God Bless You! We can’t plan spiritual revival…we can only put

ourselves in a position for God to work and touch us! -Pastor Ed

June 2011

The Gathering

COMING EVENTS

50s STYLE DRIVE-IN The youth group will be having a

fundraiser at the downtown church

parking lot on Friday, June 3, from

5:00-9:00 p.m. It will be a 50’s

style drive-in. This will be during

the “First Fridays” in downtown

Goshen.

As people park their cars, the youth

will come out and wait on them.

Most of the waiters will be on

roller skates.

The menu will be: hamburgers,

cheeseburgers, hot dogs, chicken

strips, chips, pickle, soft drinks,

sundaes, and root beer floats.

Come for a meal and support our

youth! All proceeds will go to the

youth Appalachia mission trip.

PRIMETIMERS The Primetimers will be visiting

the Ruthmere Mansion and Well-

field Garden on Wednesday, June

15. The Ruthmere mansion is the

1910 home of Albert and Eliza-

beth Beardsley, near the end of

the Main Street bridge in Elkhart.

Later Arthur and Stella Beardsley

lived there and made some

changes. A later owner was the

Deputy family, who raised six

boys in the house. The most re-

cent part of the home to be

opened is the servant quarters,

newly opened this summer.

We will have a guided tour of the

home seeing how both the owners

and those who served them lived;

cost is $7.00. In addition to the

servant quarters, we will see the

main and second floors.

Lunch will be at Christiana Creek

Country Club, ordering from the

menu. After lunch we will visit

the nearby Wellfield Botanical

Gardens and the guilt garden in

bloom.

The bus will pick up at Green-

croft at 9:00 a.m., and we will

leave the church parking lot at

9:30 a.m. We plan to return

around 3:00 p.m.

APPALACHIA TRIP Please remember to pray for our

youth group as they go on a mis-

sion trip from June 18-25 in the

Appalachia region of eastern Ken-

tucky/Tennessee. There will be

around 37 youth/adults going on

this trip. They will be staying at an

old church campground, and while

there some of the youth will help to

run a day time Bible Camp for the

kids of the area, while others will

be doing home improvement pro-

jects in the area.

ELKHART CO.FAIR We will again have a church booth

at the Elkhart County Fair this year

from July 22-30. We will need lots

of volunteers. More information

will be coming soon in the bulletin

and newsletter.

HOG ROAST Put on your calendars the date of

August 28, because that evening

we will be having an all-church

Hog Roast at the Life Center. Eve-

ryone will bring a carry-in dish or

two plus chairs. All those who

own motorcycles are invited to ride

them to the Hog Roast. There will

be games for all ages that evening,

and lots of food and fun! So don’t

miss this Coming Event!

GOOD BYE!! Good bye and good luck to Kathy Tormey as she and her husband,

Jim, accept an appointment in Roanoke, Indiana. Kathy’s last day

as our downtown church custodian will be June 17. Kathy has been

with our church for several years, has done an exceptional job, and

will be hard to replace! We will be looking for a part-time custo-

dian to work 10 hours per week in the summer and 20 hours per

week in the fall and winter. If you are interested, or know someone

who would be interested, stop by the office and drop off a brief re-

sume or fill out an application. We respectfully request no telephone calls.

MINISTRY MENUS ARE COMING!

Have you wondered how to get involved in the life and work of the church? Have you wondered how to sign up

or let someone know you are interested in serving in some area of ministry in the church? Have you been serving

in the past and want to make sure you sign up to do it again next year?

We have a way for you to do it! It’s called our Ministry Menu and with it,

you have the opportunity to let us know what ministries you are interested

in serving in during the coming 2011-2012 year. You will be receiving

yours in the mail soon, and we ask that you look it over, pray about it, fill it

out, and turn it in to the church. It has a new look this year: more like a

restaurant menu. You can choose an appetizer, a main course, or if you

aren’t sure, you can take a taste test to try out something.

Jesus said, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your ser-

vant…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve….”

Matthew 20:26, 28. Christ calls us to serve one another. We would like to

see every member involved in ministry, using their spiritual gifts to serve

our Lord, His church and the world. Please fill out your Ministry Menu so

we can help you get involved and serve.

UPWARD FLAG FOOTBALL We will be offering Upward Flag Football again this fall for K-third

grade kids. The games will be on Thursday nights at 5:30 and 6:30

p.m., and the dates are from September 8 to October 27 — 8 weeks.

Entry forms are due on August 8, and evaluations will be August 11

and August 13, with a make-up day on August 15. Teams will be

announced on August 22nd. The closing ceremony will be October 30.

The price is $65.00 per child. If you would like more information, talk

to Jeff Karnes, 238-1939, or Kim Karnes, 238-1243, or Aimee

Brinson, 343-4770.

Non-Profit Org.

U.S. Postage

PAID

Permit No.136

Goshen, IN

First United Methodist Church

214 S. Fifth Street

Goshen, IN 46528

Phone: 533-9518

www.goshenfirstumc.org

Address Service Requested

THANK YOU!! “A belated thank you for my church family that gave me the large birthday card in April, plus some individual

cards by mail. I also want to thank John and Lois Fidler for delivering the beautiful rose and the enjoyable visit.”

-Gordon Moore

“Many thanks to my church family and Fisherman Class for all the prayers and cards for me during my surgery;

also the delicious food from TGIW, and transportation to the Elkhart Clinic from Doc Haney, John Eldridge, and

Carole Evans. I appreciate your kindness very much.” -Mary Dieter

“To my friend who left me the wonderful Mother’s Day surprise at the Life Center. You know all the goodies

will be put to good use. It is so nice to know someone knows me so well and it meant so much. Many will enjoy

your generosity. Thank you so much!” -Ann Bender

“A heartfelt thank you to all of our friends here at First Church. I truly appreciate all of the cards, flowers, and

visits, both before and after Dorothy’s death. It helps a lot. A special thanks to Brenda and Ed for the marvelous

service.” -Fred Feick

“Many thanks to you for making my 88th birthday memorable! On April 1 Lois Fidler appeared at my door bear-

ing a yellow carnation and took the time for a visit. That afternoon I was reunited with several old friends at Ev-

ergreen Place when we received communion by Pastors Ed and Brenda and Pam. There were also yellow tulips

from Bayaks at my door! Also I am grateful for the birthday songs and cards. When I was at church on April 10,

Jeremiah Chico was right on hand to help me, and when I went outside for transportation home, there was Al

Lane waiting to tell me happy birthday. God bless you all!” -Pat McKinney

June 1

Bailey Null

June 2

Phyllis Blough

Connie Brinkruff

Dave Parsons

Ermadean Seltenright

June 4

Linda Shorthouse

Janet Taylor

Tom Conrad

Jamie Lehman

Lacy Gangwer

June 5

Chad Weddle

Cassie Kyle

Glenda Brechtel

June 6

Marty Myers

Stacey Yoder

Madeline Snow

Rory Hart

June 7

Jeff Caton

June 8

Kathy Meier

Sydney Stutsman

June 9

Jo Snyder

Virgil Campbell

April Blankenbaker

Stan Leedy

June 10

Alison Colglazier

Eric Colglazier

June 11

Milton Grant

Pam Peffley

June 12

Andrew Null

Julia Giddens

June 14

Caitlin Deranek

Connie Yoder

June 15

Jodi Salisbury

Kris Sorg

Alex Morrison

Beverly Towne

June 16

Elbert Groves

Dan Miller

June 17

Matthew Cork

Claris Cloud

Che’ Carbone

June 18

Brenda Wilkinson

Steven Yoder

June 19

Bennett Brown

Clair Motts

June 20

Jackie Lung

Bonnie Elder

June 21

Diane Miller

Brent Lewallen

Doug Snow

June 22

Roger Meier

Beth Pettit

June 23

Michelle Eckelbarger

Elaine Anderson

HAPPY JUNE BIRTHDAYS!

June 24

Gene Weaver

Ellie Groves

Robert Andrews

Faith Gailey

June 25

Doug Bender

Jamie Yoder

June 26

Lewie Weaver

Jillian Mehl

Kaitlin Skelton

June 27

John Fidler

Tina Cork

Kelly Cork

John Platz

June 28

Laura Haney

Ned Starnes

Drake Crowder

Linda Stevens

June 29

Kaden Sheets

Phil Hutchings

June 30

Colfax Cannaday