“But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Cor 13:13

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A M O N T H L Y N E W S L E T T E R O F I S L E O F H O P E U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T C H U R C H

I n last month’s Glad Tidings Pastor Mike spoke about the reason for

the existence of the church. In his article he quoted Paul David Tripp who said, “God is rescuing fallen hu-manity, transporting them into His Kingdom, and progressively shaping them into His likeness - and He wants you to be a part of it.” Think about it. God wants you to be part of His ongo-ing quest to bring people to faith in Christ and transform them into peo-ple who have Christ like characters!

Linda and I like to go out to break-fast at least once a week and one of the restaurants we like to go to is Bob Evans. On the wall of Bob Evans they have written their motto which is, “A place where strangers become friends, and friends become fam-ily.” As we would enter the restau-rant there we would often have the same waitress. Almost as soon as we sat down she would bring to the table

Transforming Strangers Into Friends and Family

ConfirmationsAdult MinistriesChildren’s Ministries

Stephen MinistryCore ConnectionsPrayer

IOHUMC Student Ministries

Music MinistriesSailors BibleMissions

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Glad TidinGs (UsPs-706-200) PUblished MonThly by The isle of hoPe UniTed MeThodisT chUrch, 412 ParkersbUrG road, savannah, Ga 31406. Periodical PosTaGe Paid in savannah, GeorGia. PosTMasTer: send chanGe of address To Glad TidinGs, 412 ParkersbUrG road, savannah, Ga 31406.

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Continued on page 2…

NEWSLETTEREVENTS*

Traditional Worship 8:45 & 11:15 aM

Non-Traditional Worship 11:15 aM

Sunday School 10:00 aM

Isle of Hope UMC412 Parkersburg roadsavannah, Ga 31406www.iohumc.com

Office HoursMonday-Thursday: 8am-5pm

friday: 8am-3pm

tele: 912.355.8527fax: 912.355.9113

sign-up for our weekly enewslettersat www.iohumc.com

412 Parkersburg Road, Savannah, GA 31406

Isle of HopeUnited Methodist Church

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* A complete calendar of all Isle of Hope UMC events can be found online at www.iohumc.com.

March 2015

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SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

- Week of Interfaith Hospitality

- Lenten Breakfast

- Friends N’ Needles Meeting

-No Wednesday Night Supper

-Pretzel Saturday

- Lenten Breakfast

-Easter Cantata

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-Core Connection

-Confirmation Sunday

- Lenten Breakfast

“ The church; a place where strangers become friends,

and friends become family.” exactly what we like to drink – with-out us even asking, and would ask if we wanted our regular breakfast! She knew who we were and what we liked to drink and eat. We felt like we were with family. Isn’t that a great picture of the church? A place where strang-ers soon become friends, and those friends very quickly become part of our family.

In the New Testament we see many great stories of people being wel-comed into the Kingdom of God. In the feeding of the five thousand in Luke 9:11 we read, “But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him (Jesus); and welcoming them, He be-gan speaking to them about the king-

dom of God and curing those who had need of healing.” Do you notice what Jesus did? He “welcomed them,” spoke to them of the Kingdom of God, and demon-strated the power of the King-dom of God. If Jesus had not welcomed them they would not have had the joy of hearing of the Kingdom of God and experi-encing its power.

An important part of our Live the Call vision is to help people connect relationally as they are welcomed into our church. In the New Testament the words used for ‘welcome,’ which can be translated as ‘hospitality,’ mean

Glad Tidings

Vol. VIII • March 2015

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Bob Evans

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-Week of Prayer Journey

- Lenten Breakfast-ASP Skills Workshop

- Lenten Breakfast

-Adult Ministry Spring Garden

-ASP Skills Workshop

-Sailor’s BiblePerformance

-Sailor’s BiblePerformance

FR21AY

THURSDAY

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“Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed him” Matthew 4:19-20The day has finally arrived! For 15 weeks now our new Stephen Ministers have been preparing. They have now also completed 50 hours of training on listening, caring, and crisis intervention. The new Stephen Ministers bring their gifts of patience, kindness, and exhortation to our congregation as an added layer of care. Join us in thanking God for all these friends that have answered the call for this ministry and in praying for them as they begin this important work of the Lord’s! LindaBergstrom DanieleBurgess PennyJohnsonDianeDraughon ClairWetmore AnnetteWetmoreNancyGallagher LynnRoesler CyndyLoMonacoKennethJohnson RudyLoMonaco BarbaraWilsonAndrewWall KathleenO'Sullivan MaryWise

“gladly welcoming someone to one’s home as a guest.” Welcom-ing newcomers is a theological demonstration of God’s grace - when we welcome newcomers to church, we are demonstrat-ing the gracious love and care of God” (Gary McIntosh in Assimi-lating Church Visitors: Beyond the First Visit).

A great image that can help us understand biblical hospitality is what happens when a family is blessed by a new baby. When that precious gift from God en-ters the home the life of the family is totally transformed! Life in the home will never be the same, it has been radically changed! But, all the changes needed, for years to come, to care for and nurture this pre-cious gift from God are not re-sented, instead they are seen as a privilege and a joy.

The word ‘radical’ means, “Thoroughgoing or extreme, es-pecially as regards change from accepted or traditional forms.” Jesus Christ was certainly radi-cal in securing our salvation, giving us a wonderful exam-ple of how we are to be radical in welcoming others into His church. Think about all that Jesus did for us. He left the pu-rity and beauty of paradise and condescended to enter into our sinful world by becoming one of us. He bore our guilt and shame on the cross, so that we could be welcomed into a relationship with God. He gave his all in a very radical way and calls us to do the same. Isn’t this at least in part what Jesus meant when he said to his disciples, and to us, “Come, follow me.”? I believe that we would be safe in say-ing that Jesus practiced radical hospitality!

Rather than using the word ‘welcoming’ to describe our church, maybe we should say we are a church that is ‘radically hospitable’ toward those who visit our services and activities so they will know we genuinely care about them. We care so much about them that we are “a church where strangers become friends, and friends become family.”

Beyond any doubt we are a church that is very welcoming to those who visit. But, as with any ministry, we can always make improvements. This is the goal of a new ministry team we are in the process of forming; a team we may call the Radical Hospi-tality Team. This team will seek to follow the example of Christ as they reach out to those who are looking for friends and fam-ily. Those whom God sends to our church so they can be trans-ported into the salvation, new life, and eternal hope only He can give.

In the near future you will hear more about our new hospitality team. Please be in prayer about how God may be calling you to participate.

To God be the glory,

Pastor Bill

Transforming Strangers Into Friends & Family continued from page 1

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Do you feel that God is calling you to serve internationally this year? Are you ready to step out of your comfort zone and allow God to work in and through you? We have several opportunities for people of all ages and skill levels to step out in faith and serve in His name.

Bayonnais,HaitiMay13-19We will teach English and develop friendships with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Tapachula,MexicoJune20-27We will be a relief team for the house parents at one of the Mission on the Move Children’s Homes

Peru-DatesinJulyTBASanta Elena, Honduras August 1-7

We will be doing construction at one of the Mission on the Move sites

Ifyouareinterestedinlearningmoreorwouldliketosignup,contactJulieorAyrinat355-8527

Isle of Hope UMC will host the families enrolled in Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) during the week of March 15-22. We are looking for volunteers to help with set-up, clean-up, as dinner hosts or overnight hosts, to prepare meals or wash linens. If you and your family would like to serve during the Interfaith week, please contact Joan Connelly at connellyjoan@gmail.com or 398-3807 or Nancy Skinner at 354-8946. Or you may sign up in the church hallway on Sundays, March 1 and 8. This is a great way for families to serve together!

Latin DinnerTo welcome Latin new members with Entertainment, Silent Auction & Handmade Items

Hosted by Friends ‘n Needles Prayer Shawl Group

Sunday, March 15th - Sunday, March

Declare His Glory Among the Nations

Upcoming Mission EventsSave the Date Frinday, April 17th

Interfaith Hospitality Network

Latin Dinner

On the Mission Field

Each of these Adult Ministries activities should be most enjoyable, and we hope you will plan now to join in. Sign up for each program and BARNUM ticket information will be available through Sunday School classes or by calling the Church office or Sally Scott, 897-1085.

Adult Ministries

Events

Friends N’ Needles Prayer Shawl Group

The Friends ‘n Needles Prayer Shawl Group will have their March meeting on Thursday, March 5th from 11am until about 2pm. Bring your favorite Little Debbie, Twinkies, etc for des-sert. Soup and cornbread will be pro-vided. We will be working on light and bright summery handmade items to sell at the Latin dinner. No mat-ter your knitting or crocheting skill, please join us. Or, come and learn!

• March15 - Trip to the matinee performance of the musical BARNUM at Asbury Memorial UMC. • March30 - Ed Poenicke’s annual Spring gardening tips and informa-tion program.

STEPHEN MINISTRIES

For any and all information about Stephen Ministry or if you feel like you would like to discuss having a Stephen Minister please contact:

Brooke Chambers Director of Stephen Ministries at Isle of Hope UMC bchambers@iohumc.com 355-8527 ext. 46 or Cell: 731-439-1777

Munday Thursday Service 7:00PMGood Friday Service NOON

Sunday, April 5th Services:8:45 AM Traditional Service

10:00 AM Traditional Service 11:15 AM Traditional Service

11:15 AM Anchor

EASTER SERVICES

Remember the Endowment Fund in your Wills, Trusts, Honorariums & Memorials

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The Kids of the Kingdom are hard at work rehearsing the musical “The Sailor’s Bible!” Come join us for the 40 minute tour that tells the Bible stories of Noah and the great flood, Jonah and the great fish, and Paul’s ship-wreck. Please mark your calendar for the two performances on March 11th (at Wednesday night supper) and March 12th (details to fol-low). Get ready to set sail!!

Children’s Ministries

Markyourcalendarsnow&planforyourchildrentobepartofanawesomesummeratIOHUMC! IOHUMCVacationBibleSchool June15th-19thEpworthbytheSeaElementaryCamp June29th-July3rdRise&ShinePreschoolCamp July13th-17thGiddyUp&GoNurseryCamp July14th-16th

SAILOR’S BIBLE PERFORMANCE

PretzelSaturday,ourannualchildren'sEasterCelebration,willbeMarch28thfrom9:30-11:00am.Wehopetoseeyouthere!

Confirmands:

• Jonathan Bethel• Walker Bowers• Will Brantley• Rowan Burgess• Christopher Cheng• Josh Colon• Thomas Costner• Clay Dekle• Tate Dixon• Brian Egan• Trip Flowers• Carter Geriner

• Karl Banks• Blake Chambers• Wez Childers• Brian Connor• Lindsay Connor• Clark Floyd

• Caroline Gilpin• Mary Baynes Greene• Jay Hagan• Bonnie Heneman• Turner Hilliard• Win Johns• Nicholas Jowers• Katherine Lemack• Coleman Marini• Hayley Meyers• Matthew Mims• Lucy Mock

• Grace Moore• Abby Peacock• Gracie Phillips• Erickson Rasplicka• Campbell Sherrill• Emily Smith• Bennett Stroop• Ethan Strother• Cameron Weaver• Emma West• Jake Wilkes• Jack Wylly• Sophie Ziblut

Leaders:

Our37ConfirmandsbegantheirjourneyinOctober.OnMarch1st,theyprofessedtheirfaithandbecamefullmembersofIOHUMC!Thankyouforalltheprayers!

Dear Ministry partners at Isle of Hope UMC,

We are so grateful for your partnership with Unto the Least of His ministry. Today, it is with great thanksgiving and gratitude that we report the successful completion of the water well at L’ngusagan village in northern Kenya. This water well project was blessed with an abundant water supply accessed at 132m and the well is now pumping water at 4.8m3/min, which is very good for this region. Many praises to our Lord and Savior today for blessing one of the driest and remote areas in Samburu with water!

Having access to clean and safe drinking water is something we often take for granted. Some es-timates suggest over 750 million people around the globe are not able to have a simple drink of clean water. Imagine walking 12 miles every day to get enough water for your family’s needs! Too often, that water is contaminated. This water well will help them survive drought, reduce disease caused by contaminated water, and help keep their livestock alive. Because of you, hundreds of lives have been saved.

The project is now complete and providing life-giving water to over 1100 families—approximately 3500 villagers-- including orphans and widows, their livestock, and a small school and medical dispensary. Many more will likely use this water well, as they travel long distances from other villages or are passing through as they herd their livestock, desperately seeking grass and water.

This year, the critically important long rains failed, pushing the people in this region further into famine and thou-sands faced starvation. This water will not only save lives, but also provide water for livestock and a possible commu-nity garden in the future. The cattle provide both milk and income through calves born to healthy cows, so this also helps reduce famine and stabilize a family’s income. As their lives improve because of this water, children can attend school, families can access health care and other needs, and villages can thrive. On behalf of the local village, we are very grateful for this miraculous, life-giving source of clean and safe drinking water! The Samburu know it is God who provides the water wells, through our family in Christ, and they use this gift of a well and water to share their faith with many others who visit the well. Many blessings,Naomi Lekisaat, Dipa Lesarge, and the Samburu KARE project “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matt 25:40

Missions

Welcome Confirmation class of 2015! thank you to our incredible leaders and mentors!

music ministries The Easter Story • ACantataforPalmSunday•Sunday, March 29

On Palm Sunday, March 29, the Chancel Choir and orchestra will present a new cantata in worship. We have chosen The Easter Story, by Tom Fettke and Thomas Grassi, which draws on folksongs from various sources, wedded with hymn texts from traditional Christian authors. Folk-songs come from the traditions of particular communities; these melodies are usually anonymous and passed down orally. They hold deep meaning for the community, and are often shared with and adopted by other communities. We Americans think of Appalachian music and Negro Spirituals as our own, but we also love English and Irish folksongs as well as music from more exotic cultures. In the publisher’s words:

The Easter Story retells Jesus’ suffering, death, resurrection, and exaltation to the right hand of the Father. The narrative, by Ken Bible, is thor-oughly, deeply scriptural. It helps us relive the events that unfolded in Jerusalem two thousand years ago, but it also places them in the flow of God’s dramatic, eternal story of redemption.

Inspired by this narrative, Tom Fettke and Thomas Grassi have drawn upon simple, yet profound folk music sources, including hymns from The Sacred Harp and The Colombian Harmony, spirituals, carols, and songs from English, Irish, and Hebrew traditions. Two speakers share the narrative, beautifully underscored by Michael Lawrence’s brilliant orchestration.

We invite you to join us for this worship presentation of The Easter Story. Please invite all your family and friends to worship with us that day. May God speak through our music to all with open hearts!

Kevin Vogelsang

COMPLETEDETAILSANDREGISTRATION

INFORMATIONCOMINGSOON!

• Bo Johnson• Sam McCachern• Pam Rody• Marjo Zelinsky

• Rev. Bill Bergstrom• Katie Kavanaugh• Mackay Lee• Rev. Meg Procopio

Mentors: • Edward Sammons• Amy Schmutz• Phillip Schmutz• Jim Sharpley• Lynn Troughton• Ed Yannett• Marjo Zelinsky

• Kim Floyd• Alexander Grady• Eric Harlan• Glena Harlan• Hal Kraft• Jocelyn Lee• Geroge Quattlebaum

WELCOMEWe welcome Rev. Abimael (Abi) & Maggie Rodriguez to the ministry team here at Isle of Hope UMC. Abi & Maggie served the Hispanic Ministries of the South Georgia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church for the last 12 years. Most recently, they served the Nuevo Comienzo (New Beginnings) United Meth-odist Church in the Savannah District. In January 2015 they helped begin our Span-ish service here at Isle of Hope UMC. They have two daughters, Jennifer & Kathryn. We are so excited to share in ministry with this gifted family.

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Sunday Evenings 6:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. in the Isle of Hope UMC Sanctuary beginning March 1, 2015.This thirty minute service will offer a time of inspiration, worship, and an opportunity to pray, and receive prayer that imparts hope and healing through Jesus Christ. In an atmosphere saturated with prayer, we can find renewed strength from the One who said, ”Come to me, all who are thirsty!”

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New Member Class Core Connections

March 22, 2015

March has arrived! As winter melts away, signs of spring and new life come along with new Student Ministries options:

What an experience we had traveling to Snowshoe, West

Virginia for our annual Ski Retreat, taking around one hundred students and adults from Isle of Hope UMC, Wesley Monumental UMC, and Wilimington Island UMC. Our students were afforded the opportunity to fellowship, learn, relax, eat, and of course, SKI! The most memorable moment on this trip was having the chance for all three groups to come together for a time of praise and teaching. It was incredible to experience students singing to their Savior, while also learning and growing in their relationship with Christ. Our theme for the weekend focused on God’s calling on our lives. Students had the oppor-tunity to hear that God first calls all of us into a relationship with Christ, and also calls each of us into a specific calling. Students also learned specific truths about the One who calls us – Jesus Christ. Christ always calls us out of love and will never forsake us in our calling. Thanks to all IOHUMC students who participated and helped to make this trip memo-rable. Also, a special thanks to Hal Kraft, Jim Sharpley, Kim Floyd, Paige Couper, Jocelyn Lee, and Jackson Kiley, whose leadership helped to make this trip run seamlessly; you guys rock! We are glad to be back, but Ski Retreat 2015 was a great experience and we cannot wait to go back next year!

UMYF Sunday Night Lessons Over the months of February and March, we will working through two series that will continue to build off our “Run the Race” theme. They are entitled “Along the Raceway” & “How to Run the Race Strong.” These series will discuss various issues that we can face in our faith and how we can ad-dress them, along with strategies on how we can be strong in our faith. The following UMYF lessons for the month of March are listed below:March 1: “Along the Raceway: Hitting the Wall”March 8: “Along the Raceway: Pitstops”March 15: No UMYF due to Spring Breaks and St. Patrick’s DayMarch 22: “How to Run the Race Strong: You Have to Train”March 29: “How to Run the Race Strong: Keep Our Eyes on the Prize”

No KFC, UMYF or Worship Arts on March 15th due to St. Patrick’s Day.

Ready for the next step with Isle of Hope United Methodist?

CoreConnectionsisyouranswer!

Core Connections is a relaxed, 3 hour session, led by our pastors, in which you will learn about our church and your role as a mem-ber. At the end of the session you will have an opportunity to com-mit to church membership.

Our next Core Connections Class will be held on March 22, 2015. You can register online at www.iohumc.com (click on Core Con-nections Class) or by calling the church office at (912) 355-8527.

Parents: Childcare is provided for children birth- 5 years old. Please make sure that you request child-care.

If you know anyone who is look-ing to connect to Isle of Hope United Methodist Church, help them take the next step by invit-ing them to Core Connections. Then, direct them to one of the convenient registration methods.

PRAYER

Lenten Prayer Journey March 16 – April 3You are invited to participate in a personal prayer journey leading up to Easter. The purpose of this journey is to help open our hearts to God’s Presence and purpose for our lives. This is not a prayer vigil, but an exciting personal journey into the wonderful Presence of God through prayer. It will be offered in our new Prayer Center, located in the Tabby Cottage (the building adjacent to the Main Office building.) The Prayer Center will be set up with four Prayer Sta-tions to help guide your journey. You are encouraged to reserve at least a thirty minute block of time each week. You can reserve your thirty minutes by signing up on the prayer board in the main hallway of our administrative wing. The Prayer Center will be available 6:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. This journey will help you grow your life of prayer and inspire us all to pray expectantly as we Live the Call to discipleship.

IOHUMC PRAYER ROOM

Please contact Mackay Lee for more information on any of these events at 912-355-8527 ext. 15 or at mlee@iohumc.com.

Annual Ski Retreat

Last month, 40 of our middle schoolers gath-ered together for another great year of Fast Food Progressive Dinner. We traveled to four different fast food restaurants for different courses. We had a blast and we are so thankful for our awesome adults who helped make this happen.

KFCSundayNightLessons This month, KFC will be doing a series on When God is Silent. We will be studying the life of Jeremiah and relating it to our own lives and the struggle of feeling like God can’t hear us. We will be talking a lot about prayer and how to have hope in tough times. Please join us on Sunday nights from 5-7 pm.

ASP Skills Workshop Kicks off Friday, March 6th at 6pm at the Greenhouse. The workshop will finish Saturday, March 7th, 12pm at the Cornus Cottage. We will be participating together in team build-ing activities, as well as learning various construction skills.

Fast Food Progessive Dinner

Online Giving and Tithing You may now give your contributions online with Check Free Bill Pay. Through your bank, you can now schedule your Contributions made to Isle of Hope United Methodist Church. Since Isle of Hope UMC is registered with Check Free, your bank will automatically send your designated funds directly to the Church account. Through your online banking sys-tem, you may also choose to have your bank cut a bank check and direct it to the Church. If you have any questions please contact Shirley Carter at 912-355-8527.