w instead onnection c

May 2021

Strengthening children and families so that all may know God better.

C

I hope, like me, you are still feeling the joyful presence of the risen Jesus

Christ in this Easter season. He was truly present with us in the flesh on Easter

morning, and just as he came to be present with his disciples, he has been pre-

sent with us every time we have gathered for worship since.

There is a temptation, though. In fact, it is one of the very same temptations

the devil used on Jesus. He quotes from Deuteronomy (let’s never forget that

the devil quotes scripture when it’s to his benefit). “Then the devil took him to

the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are

the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will com-

mand his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that

you will not strike your foot against a stone’” (Matthew 4: 5-6).

If God can really be trusted, the devil argues, you should have no fear of what

might happen, no matter what you do. Prove it! Jump off this building or do an-

ything else that might endanger your life!

But Jesus quotes from another place in Deuteronomy: “Do not put the Lord

your God to the test.” It is wrong to hang our faith in God, Jesus is saying, on

the assumption that God will protect us from all harm even when we behave

unwisely.

I believe that Winstead has resisted the devil’s temptation to test God over

the past year. We suspended in-person gatherings when Covid infections rose

to alarming rates, and found new and creative ways to worship safely. We have

carefully followed guidelines like masking and distancing and avoiding behav-

iors known to spread the virus more widely, like group speaking and singing.

And most folks have been willing and eager to receive one of the life-saving

vaccines. We have done all this because, as Christians, we are called to care for

(Continued on page 2)

onnection W instead

Pastor’s Message

2 The Winstead Connection

Learn

Pastor George’s office hours are Monday -Thursday, 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm.

He is also available for counseling or consultation by appointment:

Email: [email protected]

Cell phone: 540-493-0656

Pastor George Loveland

540-493-0656

and serve the needs of others, particular-

ly the most vulnerable.

God has heard the cries of his people,

and is responding. Infection rates are

falling, and we are gradually returning to

safe forms of in-person worship and oth-

er gatherings. But I am urging us to re-

main vigilant in resisting the devil, who is

very keen on our frustrations, and whis-

pers in our ears: “Don’t be afraid. Do

(Continued from page 1) whatever you want. God will protect

you.”

The end of our sojourn through the

desert is in sight. We are coming closer

to what feels right now like a promised

land of milk-and-honey-- meeting,

greeting, hugging, sitting close to our

friends in church, proclaiming God’s

word through song and liturgy. Continue

to lead us, O God, and lead us not into

temptation.

• A study of the Trinity through the lens

of the novel The Shack, by William P.

Young. This study meets on Wednes-

days at 7 p.m., in Hood Hall, and runs

through May 26. To join this study,

led by Pastor George, contact him at

5 4 0 - 4 9 3 - 0 6 5 6 o r e m a i l

[email protected].

• Tuesday Morning Bible Study meets

every Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. at the

church. It currently uses the book Step

by Step Through the New Testament:

a New Testament Survey. To join this

study, contact Marty Johnson @ 336-

402-5000 or Debbie Williams @ 252-

236-7266.

Bible Study Opportunities

• Thursday Morning Bible Study

meets at the home of Joyce Wolfe, at

9:30 a.m. The current study is Words

of Life by Adm Hamilton. To join the

group, call Joyce Wolfe at 252-299-

0981

• The Men’s Small Group Meeting is

every Monday from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.

All men, age 18 and above, are wel-

come. Currently, the group is studying

and discussing the book Draw the Cir-

cle, by Mark Batterson. If interested,

please contact Marty Johnson @ 336-

402-5000 or Jeff Creach @ 252-290-

0692.

mailto:[email protected]

May 2021 3

Marty Johnson

Youth Director

336-402-5000

By Marty Johnson

ECHO: Winstead MYF

In May we will continue our study in

the second chapter of Mark... Jesus’ heal-

ing of the paraplegic man. Youth meet-

ings are Sunday afternoons from 5:00

p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

• Sunday 5/2 We Need Forgiveness

• Sunday 5/9 No ECHO - Happy

Mother's Day

• Sunday 5/16 People Need Friends -

Going to Greenville to Captain Jack's

• Saturday 5/22 Graduation Cookout

• Sunday 5/23 Everyone Needs Faith

• Sunday 5/30 No ECHO - Happy Me-

morial Day

Look Up Lodge

We are exploring the possibility of

going to Look Up Lodge for summer

camp. We are still getting information on

their procedures for a safe camp.

We will let you know our findings if

things work out. The dates would be

June 27 - July 2.

More information will be forthcom-

ing!

Graduation Cookout

There will be a graduation cookout on

Saturday May the 22nd at the new

church property pavilion. Everyone from

the church as well as families and friends

are welcome to come and celebrate the

High School graduation of Nathan Jen-

kins and Deonta Edwards. This is a come

and go as you please event.

Children and Youth The festivities will take place from

5:00 p.m. until 7 p.m.

Senior Sunday

We will celebrate senior graduation

on Sunday, May 23. If you would like for

us to celebrate someone's graduation

from high school, college or graduate

school, please send the information to

the church office by Wednesday, May 19.

Winstead's Sunday School:

Children’s Sunday School is now in

person after the morning worship ser-

vice, beginning at 11:15 a.m. in Hood

Hall. Please wear your mask and contin-

ue to be socially distant. Join us as we

learn about God's armor. We are study-

ing Ephesians 6:10-18.

Come and join us as we memorize

scripture, sing songs, and learn how to

defeat the schemes of the devil.

On Memorial Day (May 30), we will

not meet for Sunday School.

Deonta Edwards

Nathan Jenkins


The May Drive-in Food Drive will be

held Sunday, May 16, (instead of May 9,

due to Mother's Day), following Worship

Service, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. If you

would like to help with the collection

during the drives, please let MaryEllen

know. It's a fun and meaningful time of

fellowship with one another as we collect

food for those in need.

Come check out the Seeds of Hope

Wilson booth at the Farmers Market on

Connect

Saturday mornings at the Whirligig Park.

They are selling delicious vegetables

from the SOHW garden and other items.

See Priscilla Morello for volunteer

opportunities at Seeds of Hope Wilson.

See Fred Hight if you would like to

sign up your team to play in the Seeds of

Hope Wilson Golf Tournament on May

14 at Wedgewood or if you would like to

be a Tee Sponsor.

Outreach News by MaryEllen Bass

May 2021 5

May at Winstead Sunday, May 2

10:00 am Worship with Communion 11:15 am Sunday School in Hood Hall 5:00 pm ECHO Youth

Monday, May 3

6:00 pm Men’s Small Group 6:00 pm Scouting

Tuesday, May 4

11:30 am New Testament Bible Study 4:00 pm Hand in Hand on Zoom

Wednesday, May 5

12:00 pm Wednesday Prayer on Zoom 6:00 pm Choir Practice (Sanctuary) 7:00 pm The Shack Bible Study

Thursday, May 6

9:30 am Bible Study (Wolfe home)

Sunday, May 9

Happy Mother’s Day

10:00 am Worship 11:15 am Sunday School in Hood Hall

Monday, May 10

6:00 pm Scouting 7:00 pm Dementia Caregiver Support

Group

Tuesday, May 11

11:30 am New Testament Bible Study

Wednesday, May 12


Thursday, May 13


Friday, May 14

11:30 am Seeds of Hope Golf Tourna-ment (pg. 4)

Saturday, May 15

10:00 am Women of Winstead - Wolfe home (pg. 6)

Sunday, May 16

10:00 am Worship 11:00 am Drive-in Food Drive 11:15 am Sunday School in Hood Hall 5:00 pm ECHO Youth

Monday, May 17

6:00 pm Men’s Small Group on Zoom 6:00 pm Scouting

Tuesday, May 18

11:30 am New Testament Bible Study 7:00 pm SPRC Committee

Wednesday, May 19


Thursday, May 20

9:30 am Bible Study (Wolfe home) 6:30 pm Trustee Committee

Sunday, May 23

10:00 am Worship 11:15 am Sunday School in Hood Hall 5:00 pm ECHO Youth

Monday, May 24

6:00 pm Scouting

Tuesday, May 25

Newsletter Deadline

11:30 am New Testament Bible Study

Wednesday, May 26


Thursday, May 27


Sunday, May 30

10:00 am Worship

Monday, May 31 - Office Closed

Memorial Day

6:00 pm Scouting


Women of Winstead By Sanda Hight

After five months of not meeting in

person out of caution, Women of Win-

stead will meet on Saturday,

May 15 at 10:00 am at the

home of Joyce Wolfe. All

women of the church are in-

vited for reflection and shar-

ing, planning of service pro-

jects, and fellowship.

WOW will be delighted to

welcome new members this year.

May Birthdays Caroline Harper .......................................... 1

Greg Griffin ................................................. 6

Jasmine Wells ........................................... 10

Kermit M Wells ......................................... 17

Malarie Pitt ............................................... 20

Sandie Massengill .................................... 24

Alayna Wilson .......................................... 29

Ricky Wilson .............................................. 29

Tessa Kirby ................................................ 30

May Anniversaries Chris & Sandy Pittman .............................. 9

Don & Ophelia Taylor ............................. 10

Joe & Vicky Harper ................................. 12

Jake & Joyce Wolfe ............................... 31

Connect

Sunday, May 16

11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Place your non-perishable food items or

monetary gifts in your trunk and drive

around to the back of the church.

Volunteers will unload your donations.

Thank you!

Thanks to the Ruotolo and Bass families for hosting the April food drive.

May 2021 7

Hand in Hand by Sanda Hight

The Hand in Hand ministry is finaliz-

ing plans for activities for the remainder

of the current school year.

Thanks to all who signed Prayer Part-

ner cards for April. The many signatures

and wishes were appreciated by the Vick

staff. In mid-April,

each student at

Vick received candy

and a small token

as a spring treat.

Plans for end-of-

year expressions of

love and appreciation for staff and stu-

dents are underway. Please consider

signing Prayer Partner cards for May

when they are available in the hall out-

side the church office.

The Hand in Hand Committee decid-

ed to wait until fall to celebrate our 20th

year in partnership with Vick Elementary

School.

As always, we remind our church fam-

ily to be in prayer for the safety and suc-

cess of our friends at Vick and for our

church and school partnership.

The next Hand in Hand meeting will

on Tuesday, May 4 at 4:00 on Zoom un-

less announced otherwise.

Serve

Videos for Vick By Peggie Shultz

Did you know that the single most

important predictor of a child’s success

in school is being read to? With lots of

single parents or those working multiple

jobs, this isn’t always easy.

But you can help! Vick Elementary has

provided a way for us to record videos of

books. These can be picture books for

younger students or chapter books for

older ones (a video for each chapter).

These videos are then reviewed and

posted to Vick Elementary’s webpage so

that teachers may use them during the

school day (while students eat lunch at

their desks, for example) and the stu-

dents can access them anytime.

Mandy Jenkins has created a docu-

ment with instructions on how to do this

via Google Meet or Zoom. You can copy

and paste this link (https://

d o c s . g o o g l e . c o m / p r e s e n t a t i o n /

d/1Lr7bAgkc7Ppyx3NDoHBCciPXw0mE8

4 e C r T l 5 r E w F R q k /

edit#slide=id.gccc37885b3_0_2) or con-

tact me and I will email it to you.

Wouldn’t it be great if there were 50

to 100 videos available? Students could

hear a different story every day of the

summer.

If you have questions, give me a call.

To see the current videos, go to https://

sites.google.com/wilsonschoolsnc.net/

vickvolunteerreaders/home

1407 Tarboro Street

Wilson, NC 27893

Published monthly by:

Winstead United Methodist Church

1407 Tarboro Street

Wilson, NC 27893

252-237-3709

See the online calendar for current

office hours.

[email protected]

www.WinsteadUMC.org

Sunday Schedule

Online worship videos are posted on

our website.

Pastor : Rev. George Loveland

Email: [email protected]

The Winstead Connection

Pastor

Rev. George Loveland

Director of Youth Ministries

Marty Johnson

Minister of Music

Sandy Pittman

Handbell Choir Director

Joyce Wolfe

Church Musician

Faye Jones

Office Administrator

Gretchen Hunt

Lay Leader

Jeff Creech

A Study of The Shack By Pastor George

Winstead is offering an exciting opportunity to study our

scriptures and our faith tradition: a study of the novel The

Shack, by William P. Young.

This novel is a portrayal of the Trinity, the living presence

of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in the life of one

man. This study will meet on Wednesday evenings from

April 21 through May 26, concluding just before Trinity Sun-

day on May 30. The study will meet in-person in Hood Hall.

For now, please contact me if you are interested in par-

ticipating: [email protected] or 540-493-0656.

I am looking forward to growing together, as disciples of

Jesus Christ, in the coming months!

mailto:[email protected]

w instead onnection c

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