2011 Highlights: The Art of Marriage
The Art of Marriage video workshop was held here at the church in May and will be held again Jan. 27-28. Click HERE for registration information.
By Don Forry
Dee and I had been really struggling with our relationship for a long time, back and forth, hot and cold, inconsistent, poor communications, blaming each other, selfishness, etc. It was getting to the point where both of us began to lose confidence in the relationship. And we didn’t have the energy to make it work.
The Art of Marriage came at an opportune time. God must have been pulling on us to do something because we both decided to attend not knowing what to expect. The time went fast and we were both impressed. The seminar was very effective and nonthreatening; and it put the ball in the couple’s court, to play ball or quit the game. The DVD, workbook including the questions and answers were well-crafted and helpful; especially in getting to the root issues and forgiveness.
Neither one of us really looked at marriage from a Christian perspective. In fact, my father was married three times and Dee’s father walked out on her family when she was a teenager. We never witnessed how a real marriage worked, which is a shame for us and probably is the norm for many relationships in today’s world. In essence, we never realized that God had a purpose and a plan for our marriage. One quote I remember from the seminar is that my role was to live to make my wife great. That concept never came to mind, because I was selfish; but now I am slowly beginning to “get it.”
Senior Adults Visit Billy Graham Library
By Anne Butzer
While at Billy Graham’s Library in Charlotte, we received the “royal treatment.” Doug Barrett, a former member of Hempfield UMC and regional manager at the library, greeted us upon arrival and introduced us to our guides, Pam and Ron. Pam and Ron gave us a private tour. Ron is the son of George Beverly Shea. We first toured Billy Graham’s parents’ house, which is next to the library. The home has been moved from its original site a few miles away.
The library is shaped like a barn because Billy Graham grew up on a dairy farm. The entrance door is in the shape of a cross. Everyone who enters her enters at the foot of the cross. Bessie, the talking cow, tells stories and sings. Most of the exhibits are named after books by Billy Graham. We ate lunch in the “Dairy Bar,” where Mother Graham’s chicked salad is a favorite along with a gift bag containing a beautifully illustrated book of Billy’s life.
I cannot put into words the inspiration we received in this Holy Place. Our group discussed the visit and all were inspired by Mr. Graham’s life and legacy. We agreed the reason he had a successful and powerful ministry was because he never changed his message proclaiming we are all broken people and the Lord Jesus alone can forgive our sins and make us whole, giving hope to the world, just like Pastor John preaches.
Our hope is that each member of Hempfield UMC could go there and experience the blessing as we did. In the afternoon, we toured the beautiful city of Charlotte with a step-on guide.
Thursday, our last day, we enjoyed a delicious hot buffet luncheon at the Natural Bridge Hotel in Virginia, which included turkey with gravy, carved ham and hot sides. We then had free time to explore Natural Bridge and local attractions, which included a wax museum, butterfly house, indian village (very interesting) and an antique doll museum.
We arrived back at church at 8 p.m. inspired and happy, thanking God for protecting us after driving 1,128 miles.
Women of Faith recap
By Fran Miller
Imagine…
Laughing until your cheeks hurt.
Crying, because an old wound has just been opened…again.
Surrendering to the One who takes that pain away.
Raising your arms because you need to praise.
Nodding your head because, yes, you’ve heard that story and you’ve “been there”.
Bonding with other believers who don’t even know you.
Singing your heart out until you’re hoarse.
Experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit like you never have before.
Affirming that you are loved, completely and fully through the grace of Jesus Christ.
This is Women of Faith; it is an event attended by 4 million women, cumulatively, several of which were sisters from Hempfield United Methodist Church. While gathering on that second weekend in September at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, this group of women enjoyed the conference where we listened to outstanding speakers share their stories, laughed at ourselves and our relationships through comedian Tim Hawkins, enjoyed dramas that challenged our thinking, and praised Jesus as we sang with Natalie Grant and Mary, Mary.
Hempfield UMC Wins!
Last week, our two softball teams – Gray and Red – squared off in a game at Wayside Presbyterian. The red team won, but it was one of those game where whatever happened, Hempfield UMC won. Afterward, a bunch of the players went back to the Spirit Cafe for an ice cream social.
Women’s Dinner Recap
The ladies in our small group attended the Women’s Dinner on Wednesday evening May 18th. Since this is not the first Women’s Dinner I’ve attended, I thought I knew what to expect. We sat close to the back and our table filled up quickly. A delicious chicken dinner was served to us and after dinner, coffee and chocolate cake. It was easy to see a lot of thought and preparation had gone into the meal.
In previous years, I’ve enjoyed listening to the speakers but Tabitha was different. Her story of hardship and then the blessing of her husband Joseph, how they met and the adversity they faced before marriage was captivating. Tabitha gave God the glory for bringing her and Joseph together. Even before Tabitha spoke, she had us on our feet singing praises to God. Throughout her testimony, she gave God the glory for what He has done in her life.
Tabitha has a dream. She told us of a disciple serving the poor from the book of Acts named Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. Tabitha shared stories of hardship with us about women in her village in Kenya, Africa, and how she believes a ministry can help them. She’s named her dream “Dorcas Ministries.” Tabitha closed with a prayer of gratitude. Her prayer felt like a fountain of gratitude overflowing for all we take for granted in our day to day lives. We were again on our feet thanking Jesus for water, for our homes, for our comfortable transportation, for the mattresses we sleep on, for health care, education, food, and so many blessings we have and don’t always think about.
I thank God that He led Joseph and Tabitha to Hempfield UMC and for the dream He has given Tabitha. I can’t wait to see where God will lead Dorcas Ministries and how He will use us to help fulfill this dream. As I left the Women’s dinner with a much deeper feeling of gratitude than when I had arrived, I couldn’t help thinking that I wanted to spend more time with my sister, Tabitha.
Senior Adults Tour Hebrew Tabernacle & Amish Farmlands
By Anne Butzer
The Lord provided us with one of the most beautiful days ever for our motor coach tour of Lancaster County. Our first stop was at the Mennonite Information Center where we viewed an excellent film on Mennonite life. This followed with a guided tour of the Hebrew Tabernacle Reproduction described in Exodus chapters 25 through 40. These chapters come alive as we viewed the Tabernacle and Holy of Holies. A class of children from the Wilmington Christian School joined our group for the Tabernacle tour. These children were studying the Tabernacle as part of their curriculum. Our guide asked the children some poignant questions and to our amazement the children knew all the answers.
Spring beauty was evident as we watched the Amish farmers plowing and fertilizing the fields on roads which some of us had never traveled. One lady remarked as we stopped at Eli Stoltzfus’s roadside stand for a cup of cold and delicious homemade root beer, “Don’t leave without me, I’ll never find my way home.”
Next stop was dinner at the Amish home of Amanda and David Beiler in New Holland. Amanda cooked and her daughters served the following delicious meal for us: turkey and ham loaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn and peas, buttered noodles, chow chow, cole slaw, apple sauce, homemade bread with homemade strawberry jelly, coffee and desserts. All 56 of us joined Weight Watchers the next day!
Our last stop was Kitchen Kettle, where we shopped and enjoyed the music of Banjo Jimmy and his band.
Most importantly, we had sweet fellowship. Lots of laughter. I could almost hear the angels in heaven whispering, “Oh how these Christians love one another.”
Welcome New Members!
We welcomed 28 new members into our congregation at the 8:30 and 10 a.m. services Sunday. The new members are:
Elaine Box
Michael and Debra Campbell
Scott and Nancy Dillow
Kevin and Noelle Duscha
Darin and Deborah Franck
Lawrence and Candice Kehoe
Eric Kelshaw and Melissa Ober
Stephen LaMont
Mus and Mercy MMugambi
Tony and Elizabeth Roda
Matthew Whitaker
Logan White
Debra Young
Dan Macha
Marsha Morrow
Mark and Adele Mueller
Osee Way
Robert and Jo Anne Williams
Welcome, New Members
We welcomed 18 new members to our congregation during the 8:30 and 10 a.m. worship times this past Sunday.
Bonnie Anderson, Kent and Judy Bookman, Paul and Barbara Flexor, Joseph and Barbara Forrey, Deb Goodhart, Edward and Judy Goodhart, William and Michelle Mostoller, Rick and Karen Phillips, Ken and Jennifer Schwebel, Brenda Wintermyer and Edward Young
He is able – A Women’s Bible Study recap
Where can you find laughter and tears, friendship and understanding, warm hugs and a desire for you to be your best?…at Women’s Bible study! Our Tuesday evening Women’s Bible Study just completed the study “Faithful, Abundant, True.” The video study was led by Kay Arthur, Priscilla Shrier and Beth Moore. Each leader used two weeks and led us on a journey that showed us how we can be assured that God loves us with a fierce love, equips us with a never-ending supply of mercy and power, and is able to do more than we can ever imagine. All we need to do is claim His gifts for us to be complete women in Him.
Each week we began with a time of praise and prayer. Then we broke into our small groups to go in-depth in the previous week’s homework. Finally we met together again and watched the video for the week. We started a time called afterglow which is an optional time from 8:30 to 9 when we welcome all to meet in the Spirit Café to fellowship, pray or meet new people.
As a group of ladies, we have adopted Julie Campbell and our sisters in Wachara as our mission project. This session we collected women’s sanitary products, travel-size toiletries and some goodies for Julie. We ended up with two large egg boxes to send to Kenya. On Nov. 15, I took the boxes to the post office. Little did I know that God was going to show me first-hand one of the lessons we learned…HE IS ABLE. While I was standing in the very long line at the post office, a couple behind me commented on my large boxes. I started talking to them about Julie and the work she is doing in Kenya as well as the Life for Children Ministry. Other people were listening and soon several people started handing me money toward the postage. Although we collected money for postage in study, we were short and God was able to meet that need in a very unexpected way. The boxes are on their way to Kenya and the gals are anxiously awaiting them. I came away with a renewed sense of God’s ability to take care of even the smallest detail when we work for Him! I just LOVE God moments!
We finished our fall study with a covered dish dinner. We enjoyed a holiday skit by Carol Hulstine and Sue Grigas that showed again how God can meet all of our needs. We also enjoyed hearing from Cindy Macha as she shared her experiences in Kenya and the condition of our sisters there. We were both humbled and given a new zeal for helping them.
Women’s Bible Study has been such a blessing in my life. To learn, share and grow with other ladies as we serve our faithful and loving God is not only a joy but a privilege. Please join our next study beginning in January. We will be studying the teachings of the Apostle Paul with Beth Moore. We would be honored to have you!
Men At The Cross Recap
By Gordon Nesbitt
Twenty seven men and youth from Hempfield United Methodist Church attended the Men at the Cross event at Calvary Church on Saturday, Oct. 16.
Men at the Cross is all about discipling men to Christ. The goal is for men to get involved in one-to-one relationships with other young men in the same manner that Paul discipled Timothy.
The verse that guides Men at the Cross is 2 Timothy 2:2 “…and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” The men in attendance on Oct. 16 heard inspirational sermons from the founder of Men at the Cross, Joe White, as well as national speakers, Dr. Rick Rigsby and Dana Thomas.
All the men are looking forward to next year’s event and to bringing more men with us.
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