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N E W S L E T T E R O F H I L L T O P U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T C H U R C H
September 2017
In the Groove By Pastor Mario Alejandre
These 11 weeks with my (yes, I said my) Hilltop family have been a balm for my
soul, an oasis in the wilderness and a place of healing for me personally. Being
here has served as a call to remembrance: Specifically, to remember and fulfill the
pastoral call to which Christ called me many years ago. I have benefited more
from our time together than anyone else.
To the leadership team here at Hilltop, I want you to know what a privilege it has
been to serve God’s people with you. You all have allowed me to step right in
and hit the ground running. I have felt at home from day one. Pastor Dennis,
Leigh Anne, Roberta, Kathy, Caitlin, Melissa and Chris, thank you for the hospi-
tality and trust. To the many volunteers and lay leaders that I’ve had been able to
meet, it is a joy to serve our Lord together. To the congregation as a whole, your
openness to me has not gone unnoticed. Thank you for giving me permission to
speak into your lives every Sunday morning. Again, to one and all, you have my
heartfelt gratitude.
“In the Groove.” It’s a statement that most of us understand. It usually means
that everything around us is working like it needs to. Life has found a confortable
rhythm and our day-to-day experiences find us in good places. We all long for
those days. It’s nice when we find ourselves in the groove personally. Ministry
has the same dynamic to it. We spoke last month about gearing up, a time of pre-
paring ourselves for a new season of Kingdom-minded work with God’s people
as we serve our community. Finding a good rhythm is crucial for sustainable and
healthy ministry. It doesn’t meant that everything will go as planned, anyone
who has spent more than one day in a church knows that challenges often arise.
Instead, it means that our sense of call is sure and our desire to serve Jesus, our
neighbors and one another is grounded in God’s agape love.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote the following:
For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same
function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of
another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if
(Continued on page 7)
In the Groove
2 Hilltop Highlights
Pastor Dennis Shaw
Senior Pastor
pastor@
hilltopumchurch.org
Pastor’s Musings
Many, if not most, of us are familiar with
the Syro-Phoenician woman.
Her story appears twice in the Gospels,
Mark and Matthew, and because they are
a little different, I want to focus on Mark
… Mark 7: 24-30 (NIV)
24 Jesus left that place and went to the vi-
cinity of Tyre.[a] He entered a house and
did not want anyone to know it; yet he
could not keep his presence secret. 25 In
fact, as soon as she heard about him, a
woman whose little daughter was pos-
sessed by an impure spirit came and fell
at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek,
born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Je-
sus to drive the demon out of her daugh-
ter.
27 “First let the children eat all they
want,” he told her, “for it is not right to
take the children’s bread and toss it to the
dogs.”
28 “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs un-
der the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
29 Then he told her, “For such a reply, you
may go; the demon has left your daugh-
ter.”
30 She went home and found her child ly-
ing on the bed, and the demon gone.
Yes, I find it problematic that Jesus was
arguably guilty of a less than pastoral re-
sponse to the situation of this woman.
But at the end of the day, he listened.
One of the great problems in our current
world is that it is our normative practice
to listen in order to reply rather than to
truly understand. Bonhoeffer writes:
“The first service that one owes to others
in the fellowship consists in listening to
them. Just as love to God begins with lis-
tening to His Word, so the beginning of
love for the brethren is learning to listen
to them.”
Jesus listened the first time and gave a
problematic, not particularly loving reply
– he didn’t understand, it was momentari-
ly outside his feasible solution space. Did
he think he did not owe this outcast a
deeper debt of listening?
But instead of castigating him as an un-
feeling, moronic, anti-Syrian, anti-
Phoenician, anti-Greek speaking misogy-
nist, this unnamed heroine invited Jesus
to expand his ministry horizon beyond.
In the words of Mark Miller, she invited
him to “draw the circle wide, draw it wid-
er still … ”
And Jesus did, Jesus did draw the circle
wide, wider still…and instead of replying
that she was a two time loser with non-
Jew and non-man tattooed on her fore-
head, he actually listened to her and dis-
played God’s love, God’s Grace.
Mark’s red letter words are a little differ-
ent than Matthew’s. Jesus says to the un-
named woman “For such a reply, you
(Continued on page 3)
3 September 2017
Pastor’s Musings
may go” it is her logos – which the NIV
translates as reply – that got his attention.
Logos is a word used over 300 times in the
Greek bible. Our most familiar rendering
of it is from John 1 where we are told the
word/logos was with God and the word/
logos was God. But here, the word/logos
changes the very heart of God, through
the human manifestation of God actually
listening, in love, in Grace.
"For such a word, you may go ..."
I have to wonder a little if the reason Jesus
listened was at least in part due to the
negative critique he had just given the dis-
ciples. Jesus had just told the disciples
that what pollutes one is not what is out-
side of us, but rather what is inside of us.
Mark 7: 20b: ‘He [Jesus] went on: “What
comes out of a person is what defiles
them. 21 For it is from within, out of a per-
son’s heart, that evil thoughts come—
[fornication], theft, murder, 22 adultery,
greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy,
slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these
evils come from inside and defile a per-
son.”
Sounds like to me that this unnamed
woman advised Jesus that his own words
coming from deep inside Jesus were defil-
ing him – here arguably arrogance.
But instead of retreating into a world of
privilege, Jesus, listened. He didn’t
attempt to come up with some clever,
mind numbing, self serving, retaining the
old position, reply. Jesus listened, and
then he complimented her for the word
she spoke back to him and granted her
wish.
How often are we in the position of Jesus?
Invited to hear God’s word in a way that
is new, exciting, and refreshing, and in-
stead, we retreat into our own arrogance,
our own hubris, and we endeavor to reply
from our privilege?
I love this interaction. I love it.
This non-person times two in Jesus world
– woman, non-Jew – weighs the scales of
the dialogue, and she gives back to Jesus
what he had just given the disciples – a
righteous critique.
And Jesus after getting his answer right-
eously chewed up and given back to him,
responds in Grace, reminding the woman
that it was her word – her logos – her use
of his words – her use of the logos that is
Jesus – that won the day.
If “Jesus wept” is the shortest passage
most people can quote from the bible, I
wonder if this might not be summarized
as “Jesus listened.”
I think the challenge for us in the Church
is to be listeners like the second Jesus here
in this Mark 7 passage. We can retreat
into tradition, history, and rules, just to
name three things, ad nauseum (and yes
there are an infinite number of retreats
here) and engage in an enormous exercise
in missing the point.
(Continued on page 7)
4 Hilltop Highlights
When I was contemplating the theme “in
the groove,” although I understand what
it means, I thought “being in the groove is
perilously close to being in a rut.” Doing
the same thing over and over again and
“expecting different results.” Insanity!
I choose to think of being in the groove as
having a feeling for the rhythm of life,
“feel” and “rhythm” being the operative
words.
In music, groove is a way of stretching
and bending strict metronomic time.
Different styles of music have different
grooves. Groove is a propulsive rhythmic
feel – it has motion, it is going some-
where. Groove draws a listener in.
All groove comes from feeling. Having an
academic understanding of rhythm, and
being able to play in a groove are two to-
tally different things. Groove must be felt
in order for it to be created. (As an aside,
all groove, and the entire concept of
“groove” itself, is ultimately an African-
American innovation.)
Likewise in the church, groove must grow
out of a sense of feeling - feeling God,
Roberta Shimensky
Music Director
801.571-5777
feeling compassion, empathy, grace, love,
beauty and blessings. Without feeling, the
church groove can become a rut of repeti-
tion. People are drawn into listening to
music that has a good groove going on;
likewise, a church that is in the God-
groove draws people in.
Groove is felt; it is not academic. You
can’t groove unless you know where the
pulse is. The pulse of the church is God,
and with all of God’s people interacting,
the groove that is created is the rhythm of
life.
Things in music that do not occur on the
pulse are not separate from the pulse,
they describe where the pulse is. Our pro-
grams and activities at church should de-
scribe who our pulse is. But you have to
know (where) the pulse (is).
The pulse is God. In anything and every-
thing we do, we need to be aware of God,
we need to feel God, for the activities we
do describe who God is to the world
around us. Without our God-pulse, our
activities are not groovy, they are just bad
rhythm.
Music & Arts Ministry
Feelin’ Groovy
Fall Schedule Hilltop’s Music & Arts Ministry has something for everyone. As ensembles start the fall
season, now is a good time to jump in and experience the joy of being a worship leader and
nurturing your creative spirit. We are excited about the new season!
5 September 2017
Music & Arts Ministry
A native of the Mid-
west, Houts re-
ceived Bachelor of
Arts degrees in Sa-
cred Music and Reli-
gion from Wartburg College. She enjoyed
the past four years in Boston, MA, where
she made a home with her husband,
Ryan, and their three young children.
They arrived in Salt Lake City at the be-
ginning of August and are excited to ex-
plore their new home in Utah.
Welcome Katie and family!!
Welcome Katie We are so excited that Katie Houts will be
serving as accompanist for the Chancel
Choir this fall!
Katie is the Sacred Choral Editor for Chor-
isters Guild, a nonprofit music publisher.
She brings a diverse instrumental skill set
which includes expertise in classical and
jazz piano, organ, guitar, brass, and chil-
dren's developing voices. For the past 15
years, Houts has also served as Director of
Music for ELCA and UCC churches in
Iowa, Minnesota, and Massachusetts.
From 2008-2013, she was the developer
and director of a large children's choir
program in Minneapolis.
6 Hilltop Highlights
Caitlin Collins
Children’s Ministry
Director
801.571-5777
Children’s Ministry
Nursery Help Needed Children's Ministry is looking for help in
our Nursery. We have volunteer and paid
positions available. If you are interested
please email
Sunday School & Children's Church Sunday School and Children's Church
classes resume Sunday, September 10th.
There are still volunteer positions that
need to be filled to keep the classes run-
ning all year. If you can volunteer, please
contact Caitlin at
Mother’s Morning Out “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it
springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will
make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the
desert.”
—Isaiah 43:19 (ESV)
As summer comes to an end, it can be
hard getting back into our daily routines.
Especially if our summer happened to be
particularly demanding and we are start-
ing off frazzled- instead of refreshed and
organized. I particularly appreciate this
passage of scripture that points to a God
who knows our need before we even ask,
He makes a way where there is none and
brings clarity and peace to our soul. He
comforts us during times of unrest and
spiritual dryness. Even when we can't
perceive God working for good in our
lives, the Bible promises we can trust Him
to be faithful. He is a good Father who
cares deeply for his children!
We also play a part in demonstrating
God's care to a hurting world. He calls us
to love and serve (just as he has loved and
served us). This upcoming year, as in pre-
vious years, the youth will continue to
spend numerous activity nights doing
service projects for our local community-
being the hands and feet of Jesus to SLC.
We will also spend time with each other
in some fun community activities (Fall
fest, hiking, watching movies, etc) to help
nurture relationships with one another.
Youth groups resumes Sunday, Septem-
ber 10th at 4:30 pm and we'd love to see
you there for our semi-annual "Parent/
Student meeting" where we will welcome
new families and go over our activities for
the year. See you soon!
7 September 2017
In the Groove
will find ourselves In the Groove and
ready to tackle the challenges of ministry
head-on, empowered by the Spirit, with a
love that reflects that of Jesus. That is, not
to be served, but to serve.
On a personal note, your leadership team
at Hilltop genuinely loves and cares for
you all and each other. I witnessed marks
of maturity: A desire to see others become
as fruitful as they can be. Maturity, no
doubt, often develops through challeng-
ing experiences in the past, but it is en-
couraging to see this dynamic within the
life of God’s people. You have a warm
and welcoming community. Continue to
grow in grace, trust the Spirit’s lead, rely
on the promises of God’s Word, and take
comfort in the gift of community. The one
who makes all things new will sustain
you and keep you, In the Groove.
prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service,
in our serving; the one who teaches, in his
teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhorta-
tion; the one who contributes, in generosity;
the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does
acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. (Chapter
12:4-8)
When I think of being In the Groove ,
these words of encouragement from Paul
come to mind. Ministry is not a solo oper-
ation. We all serve together, according to
our gifts and abilities. No one’s contribu-
tion is less needed than others. Some of us
will have a more public role; others will
happily serve in the background. All are
gifts of grace; all lend themselves to the
overall health of the church and to the
common good of our community. When
we serve with the idea that we need each
other and we all have a part to play, we
(Continued from page 1)
The point of all of us being here today is to
help deploy resources that make the ba-
silea – kingdom, kin’dom, reign, pick the
one that works for you -- of God just a
little bigger, a little larger, a little more Je-
sus like, surely a little more Syro- Phoeni-
cian woman like. I think many if not most
of us can recite or at least paraphrase the
United Methodist mission statement but
we must stay focused on the why, how
and where of our collective community
task: Our why echoes from John 3: 16
Pastor’s Musings (Continued from page 3)
about why God gave us the gift of Jesus --
love – love for the world. How we reflect
that love is transformation (our what), and
our where is the local church.
In our listening, are we the first Jesus,
ready to see things the way they had al-
ways been seen, or the second Jesus, new,
creative, fresh, drawn from the very words
of God. The choice is our – how do we
listen?
Selah, Pastor Dennis
8 Hilltop Highlights
September Events
Friday, September 1
7:30 pm Voice Class
Saturday, September 2
9:00 am Christ Centered Yoga 12:00 pm Organ Rehearsal Sunday, September 3
9:00 am Sunday School 9:00 am Worship 10:30 am Worship 12:00 pm Praise Band Rehearsal Monday, September 4
LABOR DAY OFFICE CLOSED 7:00 pm Cub Scouts 7:00 pm Stewardship Meeting Tuesday, September 5
7:00 pm Venture Crew 9411 7:00 pm BSA Adult Committee 7:15 pm Carillon Belles 7:30 pm Worship Team Wednesday, September 6
8:00 am UMM Breakfast 9:30 am Women’s Bible Study 12:00 pm Diggin’ the Bible 1:00 pm Shawl Ministry 5:00 pm Young Ringers 6:00 pm Joyful Ringers 7:00 pm SPRC 7:15 pm Communications 7:30 pm Boy Scouts Thursday, September 7
8:00 am Hilltop Gardeners 6:30 pm Missions Team 7:00 pm Grapevine Group 7:30 pm Chancel Choir/Sanctuary Singers Friday, September 8
7:00 pm Rescue Mission Service Saturday, September 9
9:00 am Christ Centered Yoga 9:00 am Carillon Belles 12:00 pm Organ Rehearsal
Sunday, September 10
9:00 am Sunday School 9:00 am Hilltop Orientation 9:00 am Worship 10:30 am Worship Monday, September 11
1:00 pm Staff Meeting 6:30 pm Hallelujah Bells Rehearsal 7:00 pm Cub Scouts Tuesday, September 12
10:00 am Silver Songbirds 7:00 pm Venture Crew 9411 7:00 pm Priscilla Circle Wednesday, September 13
8:00 am UMM Breakfast 9:30 am Women’s Bible Study 12:00 pm Diggin’ the Bible 5:00 pm Young Ringers 6:00 pm Joyful Ringers 7:00 pm Finance Meeting 7:00 pm Trustees Meeting 7:30 pm Boy Scouts Thursday, September 14
8:00 am Hilltop Gardeners 6:00 pm LS&D 7:00 pm Grapevine Group 7:30 pm Chancel Choir/Sanctuary Singers
Rehearsal Friday, September 15
7:30 pm Voice Class Saturday, September 16
9:00 am Christ Centered Yoga 12:00 pm Organ Rehearsal Sunday, September 17
9:00 am Sunday School 9:00 am Hilltop Orientation 9:00 am Worship 10:30 am Worship 12:00 pm Children’s Ministry Meeting 12:00 pm UMW Fall Kick-off Monday, September 18
1:00 pm Staff Meeting 6:30 pm Hallelujah Bell Rehearsal 7:00 pm Cub Scouts
9 September 2017
September Events
Wednesday, September 27
8:00 am UMM Breakfast 9:30 am Women’s Bible Study 12:00 pm Diggin’ the Bible 5:00 pm Young Ringers 6:00 pm Joyful Ringers 7:30 pm Boy Scouts Thursday, September 28
8:00 am Hilltop Gardeners 7:00 pm Grapevine Group 7:30 pm Chancel Choir/Sanctuary Singers
Friday, September 29
5:30 pm Lay Speaker Training 7:00 pm Girl Scout Troop 400
Saturday, September 30
8:30 am Lay Speaker Training 9:00 am Christ Centered Yoga 12:00 pm Organ Rehearsal
Sunday, October 1
9:00 am Sunday School 9:00 am Worship 10:30 am Worship 12:00 pm Praise Band Rehearsal
Monday, October 2
1:00 pm Staff Meeting 6:30 pm Hallelujah Bells Rehearsal 7:00 pm Cub Scouts 7:00 pm Stewardship Meeting
Tuesday, October 3
5:00 pm Children’s Choir 7:00 pm Venture Crew 9411 7:00 pm BSA Adult Committee 7:30 pm Worship Team
Wednesday, October 4
8:00 am UMM Breakfast 9:30 am Women’s Bible Study 12:00 pm Diggin’ the Bible 1:00 pm Shawl Ministry 5:00 pm Young Ringers 6:00 pm Joyful Ringers 7:00 pm SPRC 7:30 pm Communications 7:30 pm Boy Scouts
Tuesday, September 19
6:00 pm Children’s Choir 7:00 pm Venture Crew 9411 7:00 pm Church Council Wednesday, September 20
8:00 am UMM Breakfast 9:30 am Women’s Bible Study 12:00 pm Diggin’ the Bible 1:00 pm Shawl Ministry 5:00 pm Young Ringers 6:00 pm Joyful Ringers 7:00 pm Consignment Sale Set-up 7:30 pm Boy Scouts Thursday, September 21
8:00 am Hilltop Gardeners 8:00 am Consignment Sale Set-up 12:00 pm Ada Circle at Elaine Norberg’s 7:00 pm Grapevine Group 7:00 pm Consignment Sale Pre-Sale 7:30 pm Chancel Choir/Summer Singers Friday, September 22
9:00 am Consignment Sale
Saturday, September 23
8:00 am Consignment Sale 12:00 pm Organ Rehearsal 2:00 pm Consignment Sale Break-Down Sunday, September 24
9:00 am Sunday School 9:00 am Worship 10:30 am Worship Monday, September 25
1:00 pm Staff Meeting 6:00 pm Evangelism Meeting 6:30 pm Hallelujah Bells Rehearsal 7:00 pm Cub Scouts Tuesday, September 26
10:00 am Silver Songbirds 6:00 pm Children’s Choir 7:00 pm Venture Crew 9411 7:30 pm Music & Arts Ministry Meeting
10 Hilltop Highlights
Get Involved
Grow Our Sale Generate some buzz—the more we tell, the
more we sell!
The Children's and Maternity Fall Con-
signment Sale is up and running. It will be
September 22-23. Be a volunteer. Go to
hilltopsale.org.
Be a shopper! We will have over 15,000
top quality items for babies and chil-
dren— all bar-coded and organized by
size & gender. We fill two floors plus the
patio with bargains.
Be a friend! Friends tell friends about this
opportunity.
This sale blesses many families and good
causes. And, it is fun!
Women’s Bible Study The Women's Bible Study begins a new
topic on Sept. 6. "When Christians Get it
Wrong" by Adam Hamilton, tackles the
issues of the world and the hows and
whys of Christians getting it right, when it
comes to "being Christ" in the
world. Please join us for this 6 week DVD
assisted study. We meet each Wednesday
in the Wesley Room at 9:30. If you have
any questions, call Deb Hale at 801-755-
9877
Sept 22-23
Family Promise Update By Mike Montoya
We had a successful hosting this month!
We hosted 8 adults and 10 children and
celebrated a third birthday. Two families
moved into their own homes.
Our host home is unique in that we are
the only “home” in the network. Summer
is a great time to host at Hilltop as our
home is cooler than many of the churches
within the network. We also have a large
lawn for the kids to play which is right
outside the back door so it’s easy for the
parents to keep an eye on the littluns.
Our Latter Day Saint brothers and sisters
from the Crescent Stake pitched in to help
as well providing meals, groceries and
helping with hosting. Our ultimate goal is
to have HUMC serve a week with Cres-
cent Stake folks hosting the week af-
ter. This provides more stability to the
families as they do not have to move for
two weeks.
Just FYI: Stats turned in to Leigh Anne
today for last week's volunteers - HUMC
47, Crescent Ridge Stake 4, and Family
Promise 2. Pretty amazing!
Claudia Bilbao is retiring from Family
Promise after 10 stellar years. She will be
greatly missed. We are looking to add an-
other volunteer to our group. This person
will be responsible for getting the house
ready to receive families and notify the
team of needed repairs. Please prayerful-
ly consider joining the Family Promise
Team. Contact Mike Montoya 801 755-
0339 or [email protected]
11 September 2017
United Methodist Women
Attention All Women Please join us in welcoming the United
Methodist Women of the Rocky Mountain
Conference for the 45th Annual Meeting
and Celebration on 10/20-10/21. Hilltop
has the opportunity to host this event for
women from all around our confer-
ence. We are very honored to have the
Distance Learning Officer from the
UMW National Office as our keynote
speaker. We will also be hosting Bishop
Karen Oliveto as well as the deaconesses
that serve our conference. Registration is
due 9/20/17, and Hilltop UMW has schol-
arships available to assist with
fees. Registration forms are available in
the fellowship hall or you can register
electronically at
www.rmcumw.org. Please contact Sarah
Burton at [email protected] for further
information.
You Can Hear Us Now Connecting for God’s Ministries
45th Annual Meeting and Celebration of
Rocky Mountain Conference
United Methodist Women
October 20 and 21, 2017
Hilltop United Methodist Church
You are being called! Can you hear God
calling? Can you feel God? Join Alana
Walls, Distance Learning Coordinator as
we explore how to tune our hearts and
sharpen our minds to receive God’s call to
ministries no matter where we are!
Friday morning you will be able to partici-
pate in one of 3 Ubuntu experiences-
UMCO West, Crossroads Center, or Days
for Girls project will be completed at
Hilltop UMC.
Friday evening you will meet Alana Walls
from the UMW National Office and dis-
cover ways to connect with sisters in
Christ throughout the Conference
Mark your calendars! Priscilla Circle
will meet Tues Sept 12 at 7:00 pm. We will
outline our plans for the year and Mari-
lynn Tetrick will lead a discussion from
the Upper Room.
Fall Kick-Off
Join us Sunday, Sept 17 for the UMW Fall
Kick-off. Watch the Sunday bulletins for
more information.
Ada Circle
Ada Circle will meet at noon on Thurs
Sept 21 at the home of Elaine Nordberg.
Christmas Dinner
The UMW Christmas Dinner will be Mon-
day, Dec 4. Plan now to attend.
Sarah Circle
Sarah Circle will not meet in September.
12 Hilltop Highlights
by Marilyn White
When I was a little girl my Methodist
grandmother told me stories about Meth-
odist missionaries in Africa. These were
missionaries sent beyond the end of the
road to establish or sustain churches,
schools and hospitals to spread the gos-
pel, instruct and treat those neglected by
their own national governments. I don’t
imagine that the tasks were easy. It took
willing souls to deploy as missionaries. It
had to require financial resources for
training, travel, and provisions. What is
amazing is that any of this happened. But
it did, not by any one Methodist church,
but by congregations like my grand-
mother’s from all around the United
States joining their resources to make
these extensions of God’s grace, mercy
and healing hands a reality beyond the
end of the road. I was fascinated and
proud to be the granddaughter of one
who supported that outward expression
of God’s love and was proud to be a
Methodist.
What impact did these early mission ac-
tions have? For one, Nelson Mandela was
educated at Clarkebury, the oldest Wes-
leyan mission and school for the Thembu
people - his people - and at Healdtown
Methodist Boarding School. He was the
first in his family to attend high school.
We can’t know whether he would have
become the man he did without this edu-
cation, but we can say that the education
which he used to better the world was
Missions
made possible by the loving generosity of
the Wesleyan and Methodist peoples.
Fast forward to today. In the news cover-
age of the Ebola crisis in Western Africa a
couple of years ago, more often than not
the Methodist Cross and Flame were on
the signage of hospitals and clinics beyond
the end of the road dispensing care, espe-
cially in Sierra Leone.
Why did the World Health Organization
(WHO) and the Gates Foundation seek
support from the United Methodist
Church for their Imagine No Malaria
(INM) campaign? They asked us because
we had clinics, local health workers, and
pastors beyond the end of the road. These
were people who were trusted and who
could help educate people on how to pre-
vent that scourge. They were there as a
result of actions taken long ago to minister
to God’s people.
Hilltop UMC supported the INM effort
wholehearted - raised more than $10,000 -
and joined over 6 million Methodists
around the globe to fight this preventable
disease. To date, thousands of peer and
community educators have been trained.
Sixty-one facilities have been renovated.
More than four million nets have been dis-
tributed and more than 2.7 million people
have been treated. The WHO estimates
that the mortality rate has fallen by almost
60 percent. It is amazing what we can do
when we join in community to act. I am
proud to be part of this group of Chris-
tians who live their faith in actions.
Beyond the End of the Road
13 September 2017
Another crying need beyond the end of
the road is for clean water. We take if for
granted here, but for millions, it’s not
available. Last year Hilltop embarked on a
campaign to raise $8000 that will be com-
bined with donations from other churches
to finance a water treatment system in the
Dominican Republic at a church serving
the poorest of the poor. In the past year,
we’ve raised over $2800. This year Hilltop
with your help will meet our goal and
provide safe water and the Living Water
(The Gospel) to thirsting souls beyond the
end of the road.
As long as there are generous hearts like
my grandmother’s and millions of others
who supported earlier missions, those
who live beyond the end of the road will
know God’s love. I am proud to a mem-
ber of this denomination with its global
reach.
Updates:
Serving at the Rescue Mission of Salt
Lake. David and Jackie Huff are taking
over as the volunteer coordinators of this
ministry. Hilltop Praise Band and servers
will continue to be at the Mission every
second Friday of the month. If you or
your family would like to serve, sign the
volunteer sheet on the bulletin board. We
need about 6 servers every month.
Missions
Hilltop House Coordinator. Claudia Bil-
bao is stepping down at the end of the
year from this role of overwatch of Hilltop
House. We will be seeking another with a
servant’s heart to take over. More to fol-
low.
Family Promise. We reached out to the
LDS Crescent Stake community to see if
they would want to join us in hosting the
families in the Family Promise program.
Our goal and prayer is that the Stake will
decide to take a week and use Hilltop
House so we can keep families stable for
two full weeks. The Stake is going us and
two couples served during our FP hosting
in August.
Smith’s Community Rewards Program.
Smith’s has changed the program so that
everyone who wants to participate has to
re-register every July. SO, please sign up
next time you buy your groceries.
HUMC’s organization number is 75252.
Every time you buy groceries, Smith’s will
put a little aside to support HUMC mis-
sions. But we have to meet a minimum to
benefit so we need all our Smith’s shop-
pers to sign up.
14 Hilltop Highlights
Learn More About Hilltop & Methodism The Evangelism Team will be hosting a
Hilltop Orientation on Sunday, September
17 and 24 at 9:00 am in the Ada Room for
anyone interested in learning more about
the United Methodist Church and the
Belong
Pastor Dennis’s Electronic Hangouts
His sermons can be found at mantuan.podbean.com.
You can read his thoughts at mantuan.blogspot.com.
hymnals are dedicated, and a bookplate
will be placed on the hymnal with the
name of the donor and the name(s) of the
person(s) being honored or memorialized.
Those wishing to contribute without mak-
ing a dedication may do so as
well.
Please pick up an order form
in Fellowship Hall and place it
in the offering plate or return
it to the church office. Make
your check payable to Hilltop
United Methodist Church
(HUMC) and specify
“Hymnal” on the memo line.
The cost is $20.00 per hymnal.
Any moneys received in excess of the cost
of the hymnals will be donated to the
HUMC Missions Committee.
Purchase Hymnals Psalm 98:4 tells us to “Make a joyful noise
unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud
noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.”
Hilltop United Methodist Church needs
additional hymnals so all worshipers in
the sanctuary, narthex and
choir loft have hymnals availa-
ble and those Hilltop programs
using hymnals have them.
The HUMC Worship Com-
mittee invites members of the
congregation to contribute to-
ward acquiring these addition-
al hymnals by purchasing
hymnals in honor of or
memory of loved ones and oth-
ers. All honorariums and memorials will
be listed in the bulletin on the Sunday the
ministries at Hilltop. If you think you’d
like to become a member of our church,
we encourage you to attend. RSVP to
[email protected] or 801-598-0626
if you plan to attend the orientation.
15 September 2017
David Shaw ...................................... Sept 1
Betty Brown ..................................... Sept 5
Kate Van Zee ................................... Sept 7
John Davison ................................... Sept 8
Kathy Wheeler ................................. Sept 8
Jack Thomasson ............................... Sept 8
Savannah Reddin ............................ Sept 9
Don Bowlin .................................... Sept 10
Madison Phillips ........................... Sept 10
Jan Bender ...................................... Setp 12
Andre Montoya ............................. Sept 13
Claudine Haight ............................ Sept 16
Bruce Cockrell ............................... Sept 17
Katell Coquemont ......................... Sept 17
Tim Owen ...................................... Sept 19
Tom Ferraro ................................... Sept 21
Ashley Agrelius ............................. Sept 24
Jasmine Shepperson...................... Sept 26
Lace Elliston ................................... Sept 27
Susan Dunlap ................................ Sept 28
Paper Recycling Bin Our Boy Scout troop benefits from all the
paper products you put in the recycling bin
in the church parking lot. For every ton we
put in per month, the BSA gets a stipend.
Please bring your newspapers, cardboard
boxes, and junk mail.
Hilltop Hikers A weekly hiking group that meets every
Tuesday morning, we are starting our
third year and continue to explore and
enjoy the many trails along the Wasatch
front. Pick and choose the hikes/
weeks that fit your schedule. To be added
to the email distribution, please email Su-
san Dunlap at [email protected]
From the Office
Birthdays We want to recognize your birthday in the
newsletter. Send your birthdays to the of-
fice, with or without the year. You may cele-
brate a birthday by purchasing chancel
flowers, and that person will be lifted up.
You are also welcome to provide and serve
cake at coffee fellowship.
Hilltop United Methodist Church
985 East 10600 South
Sandy, Utah 84094
Published monthly by:
Hilltop United Methodist Church
985 East 10600 South
Sandy, Utah 84094
801-571-5777
www.HilltopUMChurch.org
Sunday Schedule
Sunday School for All 9:00 am
Worship 9:00 am
Fellowship Time 10:00 am
Worship 10:30 am
Fellowship Time 11:30 am
Pastor C. Dennis Shaw
Email: [email protected]
Pick one up in
Fellowship Hall