Dear U Park Family,
Last week, Bishop Stoneking and the Cabinet (the leaders with whom she works) held a lunch for local clergy downstairs in our East Fellowship Hall. About 60 pastors from around our District showed up. In her brief remarks, Bishop Stoneking cited the Czech poet and President Vaclav Havel’s thoughts on hope. Havel writes that “Hope is not prognostication. It is an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart…Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously headed for early success, but, rather, an ability to work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed.”
This Sunday we’ll be throwing a hopeful (and joyful) celebration as we end our winter and spring programming at the church and move into our summer activities: youth mission trips, MomCo outings, Vacation Bible School, and a more relaxed pace. During worship, we’ll be presenting elementary school students with Bibles, honoring our graduates, thanking our volunteers, and taking part in an infant dedication. After the 11:00 service, we’ll be having lunch together. There will be a bounce house on the lawn and children will be invited to help plant the Mother’s Garden. It should be quite a party, and I hope you can join us!
As was announced this past Sunday, we have the opportunity to join a group of Methodist churches from around the metro area who are walking in this year’s pride parade on Sunday, June 29. Carolyn Roggensack has details, or you can email me (adunning@uparkumc.org) and I’ll connect you. This is a great opportunity to show the Metro area that we are who we say we are: a diverse, radically inclusive Christian community where everyone is welcome.
Bethany Hader Crabbs, our Children’s Ministry Director, is already taking registrations for Vacation Bible School. VBS is scheduled for July 21 – 24 this year, and the theme is “Road Trip.” Bethany has put together a “wish list” of items we’ll need, and if you’d like to volunteer to help out be sure to contact her at bcrabbs@uparkumc.org.
I’ll have more news about our summer programming – but for right now I hope you’re enjoying springtime and that I’ll see you at church on Celebration Sunday!
Grace and Peace,
Andy