Archive for May, 2008
Our High School choir is on their way to Chicago for their annual tour. They’ll be stopping in various places in Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois on their way. We’ve built a few tools to help highlight their trip and give you frequent status updates.
The first is our Google Earth KML of their trip plan. If you have Google Earth installed, simply load this file and it will highlight all of their stops along the way. If you don’t yet have Google Earth installed, you can download it (for free!) from this site. If you have any problems with it, please post your question in our Technical Help forum and we’ll do our best to help you out.
The next is our Twitter update page for the event. The group will be sending frequent status updates from the road, all of which are immediately posted to their page. We used Twitter for our recent CHARGE retreat with great success and decided to use it again. You can either view the Twitter page for the latest update, or you can have their updates sent directly to your cell phone — very useful for concerned parents.
If you have any questions or problems, please feel free to leave a message in our Technical Help forum, or simply leave a comment on this blog entry.
Thanks!
Mickey
Program Volunteers: Early retirees, youth (13 +), college students home for the summer, anyone with a heart for Seniors. (Once a month or more! 10:30-2:30 M, T, W, TH)
Activity Volunteers: Musicians, Artists, or anyone with a Special Hobby or Talent to share. (anytime 10:30 – 2:30 M, T, W, TH)
Lunch Volunteers: Friends, Neighbors, or Families that enjoy cooking. Pre-prepare in your home a lunch or snack for our morning “Snack and Yak”. (one time or once a month)
Please call Allison Fischer at 770-579-9224 for more information.
Who knew paper airplanes and bubbles could be so much fun! The eight children who had a blast at our last Parent’s Night Out before the summer. It was a great mix of children. Four girls and four boys came to play with our volunteers, while mom and dad enjoyed a much needed break. Besides making and flying our paper airplanes, and dancing in the bubbles from the best bubble machine ever, we made heart pictures frames, played Hullabloo, and even enjoyed the boys Olympic style leaps onto the crash cushions. It was a great evening made possible by our awesome volunteers! Special thanks go to the Christian Navigators, and the Couples in Christ class who support out Parent’s Night Out Events.
Our next Parent’s Night Out is in September. So enjoy your Summer, and we’ll see you again in the Fall!
Blessings,
Kim
Mt. Bethel has graduated from a mailed weekly bulletin to a monthly magazine! Our communication ministry conducted a survey a while back and, according to our readers, the internet is more appealing than the weekly bulletin. The mailed bulletin is sent third-class and is delivered accordingly. Often, the bulletin is a week old when it is received.
“The Action” is the new monthly bulletin. It contains all of the upcoming events and reports of church action. It will also include a meditation and various articles of interest. Everyone is encouraged to check the church’s website, on at least a weekly basis, for the latest news. In addition, an enlarged worship bulletin will be handed out each Sunday highlighting events and news. If one does not have access to a computer and would still like to receive the weekly bulletin used for worship, all one has to do is request that it be mailed . . . and it will!
We very much desire to be efficient financially and environmentally. The less third-class mailings and the less paper used, the better we will all be.
Please let us know what you think. We look forward to hearing from you!
Randy
Yesterday you should have received an e-mail with a link to an electronic copy of The Action. If you did not and would like to receive it monthly, please click here to sign up.
(note: this is a follow-up to a special event we told you about a few weeks ago)
The day was perfect. The bright sun, crisp. The air clear. COL. Wilbur Parker, Ret. Chaplain for the Joint Chiefs of Staffs stood to bring the invocation. Then we heard it. The fly over by Major Wes Nims, US AFR (94th Airlift Wing, Dobbins ARB). The crowd erupted in applause. Tears streamed down the cheeks of the people who had gathered to honor and celebrate the life of Major James Carl Wise, Jr. A man, who gave his life to his country oh, so many years ago.
My heart was glad when I looked around the crowd and recognized many Mt. Bethel members who came to show their respect to Lucille, the widow of Major Wise, and his three grown daughters, their spouses and their children. What an honor to be there! And as I sat, I had time to reflect on several things during poignant moments of this hour and a half long service. Do the younger people today truly realize the cost of our freedom? Or rather, the cost of anyone’s freedom? Do any of us? Those who were gathered, do they understand the complete and total sacrifice our military men and women make for the cause of our freedom – a freedom that we perhaps take for granted?
As COL. George E. “Bud” Day, USAF (Ret.) stood to deliver the message – can we even comprehend what his life as a POW was like – not to mention how he was medically cared for by another POW, now known as Senator John McCain. And as the service drew to a close and the Atlanta Blues Notes band played a Medley of Service Songs from their hearts – I saw men from each military division stand, Navy, Marine, Air Force, Army, Coast Guard… With pride and confidence, they all stood when they heard their theme song. Do the young people today even know those songs? Are we raising up a generation of ignorance regarding our military history. Has my generation (the generation in between) – has my generation dropped the baton? How I pray we haven’t. How I pray that we will forever, indelibly etched in the hallowed halls of our minds, remember today, what it stood for, and what it means for our future.
Ms. Lucille, my gator country friend, indeed lost her husband to the hells of war, but her faith in God and in her country enabled her to continue on with her life, rear three beautiful daughters, and today to proudly stand tall on the stadium in front of all those gathered to honor Major Wise, as she gracefully received our Country’s flag presented to her by COL. Day. As I said, the day was perfect. The bright sun, crisp. The air clear. And then we heard it, TAPS, and the Taps echo reminding us that we have just experienced a most honorable day.
Diane Parrish
Here are some areas around the church that need you to come volunteer.
Sunday School
Did you know that Children’s Ministry will need over 85 volunteers every Sunday from June 1 - August 10 to minister to the children who will arrive to hear the Word of God at Mt. Bethel? To volunteer, contact Janis Caverlee (preschool) or Sherri Juliani (elementary) to join the team this summer.
VBS Volunteers Needed
Youth and adult volunteers are vital to the success of Vacation Bible School. Contact Dianne Hylton if you would like to volunteer your time. A free lunch is provided.
Parking Shuttle
Our parking lot shuttle, “Toby” the golf cart, runs on Sunday mornings from 9:15 to 12:30. There are 2 shifts from 9:15 to 10:45 and 10:45 to 12:30. This is a once a month or every other month commitment. Toby is very helpful to members who park far away with small children and senior members, too. We also need parking ushers to help direct members and visitors to available spots. Contact Kibbie Jones for more information.
Greeters on Sundays
Welcome church members and visitors for a 30-minute shift for a month and rotate with two other teams every 3rd month. We rely on greeters from 9:00am to 9:30am and 10:30am to 11:00am. Substitutes are available. This is an easy way to get to know other church members. Contact Kibbie Jones for more information.
Older Adult Center - Youth or Adult Volunteers Needed
Share Your Special Talent: Come sing, come perform, share your hobby, or share your pictures from a favorite trip or special collection. Whatever you choose, we make for a great audience. Contact Dawn Reed for more information.
Well y’all, it’s true - I am not only a ‘Wheel Watcher’, but I am now a contestant, too! I was recently selected to be on Wheel of Fortune, and I’m inviting you to watch me play this Friday, May 23rd, at 7pm on WATL - channel 13 on Comcast.
How did this happen? Well, last November I tried out locally, and did well enough that they called me to be on the show last month. The whole family flew out to Los Angeles, and we had a great time. ‘Wheel’ tapes all of the shows for the month in one week, so there were 4 other shows taped that same day. Mine was the last one taped, and I was really excited when it was finally my turn to spin. The wheel is pretty heavy, about 2,000 pounds! I can’t remember everything, and I probably look and sound like an idiot - BUT I did win! And my girls got to be on TV too!
I hope you enjoy watching the show. It was a true blessing to be given this way cool experience, and I give God the glory, and the church 10% (Liberty Hill, not Mt. Bethel!).
Blessings, I miss you all, Charlie Marus
P.S. - Autographs by request only!
On a cold, blustery night, more than 1200 “brave” souls from Mt Bethel “braved” the icicles and frigid temperatures of the nose bleed section in Turner Field to watch the Braves bunch their hits in a timely manner to beat the Oakland A’s 3-2 on Friday night, May 16th. This annual event organized by the Recreation Ministry once again kicked off with the parade of Mt Bethel athletes and parents around the warning track and some crowd pleasing t-ball play on the outfield grass. All of this was viewed with great interest by more than 30,000 fans in the stands on the Big Screen behind center field.
Chipper raised his .418 batting average with a 2 for 3 night and Brian McCann continues to demonstrate that he, not Frenchy, should have been on the cover of Time magazine in 2006 with 3 timely hits. This is definitely not the Braves of 2007 as the bullpen held the lead for the win. Also the game clearly proved that Tom Glavine will get into the Hall of Fame because of his pitching skills, not his bunting efforts.
Almost as much fun was watching all the fans in shorts and t-shirts suddenly realize around the 3d inning that summer has not arrived in Atlanta. They flocked to the stores to buy “bargain” Braves sweat shirts or sneaked down to the lower levels seeking defilade and protection against the arctic blast that kept our drinks cold for the evening. Atlanta was confirmed that night as the prostate capital of south; I have never seen so many men make so many bathroom trips in the course of a 3 hour game. I’m sure that the fact that the wash rooms were heated was strictly a coincidence.
Those hardy souls who stuck it out were rewarded with an incredible fireworks show sponsored by Publix. Of course those who rode the bus were forced into staying for the show because the director of Men’s Ministry didn’t answer his cell phone (yes you can queue 48 voice mail messages) from whiners who wanted to leave after the 4th inning. His very credible defense was that he couldn’t hear the phone ring over the howling of the wind.
A tip of the hat to Pam “White Shoes” Skelton and the Rec Staff for again organizing this wonderful event.
Blessings
Mike
As you may have seen this past Sunday, the church had some ancient books available for viewing this weekend. Some of the Academy classes got a chance to see them, and here are their thoughts:
Robin Chiang - 5th grade
My class visited the ancient books display yesterday and found it very interesting. The gentleman in charge gave the students a brief explanation of the history behind the exhibit. The students were amazed by the sheep skin scroll and the precision that the writers used to print the Word in square blocks. It was a once in a life time opportunity for our students to be so up close to museum quality writings of the scripture. Thank you to Mt. Bethel UMC for hosting such a historically relevant exhibit.
Linda Thomason - 5th grade
My fifth grade class viewed the ancient texts yesterday. I only wish that we had had more time with the man showing the rare collection as he was a wealth of information and history! It was a priceless and unexpected gift for the kids, and us, to see the bibles and Christian Books. The Hebrew Scroll was wonderful! We all loved it and learned a LOT from the experience. Thank You so much for including us.
Great Success!!! The summer interns of 2008 arrived Friday the 15th armed with bibles and sleeping bags, unaware of the location for their retreat! As weather worsened, our plans for camping quickly changed to shacking at Gaylyn’s lake house.
Along with paperwork and logistics, the team quickly set off on a mission to bond. Relations grew speedily when we were asked to draw a picture of a life-changing moment in our lives. As we shared, it was requested by the interns that we pray for one another. As we asked the Lord for words of encouragement, He graciously grew our love for people we had only met hours before. Prayer and worship broke out as God led us into His presence, and with the wee hours of the morning approaching, the night was finished.
When we weren’t asking the Lord for MORE!, a continuation of things He has already begun in each of us and in the ministry here at Mt. Bethel, our minds and competitive spirits were sparked with mind riddles and Catch Phrase Tournaments (which I am proud to say, Team Drew/Elise/Katie/Kelli dominated)! Gaylyn and team demand rematches to occur throughout the summer. Saturday continued our fellowship as we huffed and puffed our way up a section of the Appalachian Trail.
Finally, the retreat was concluded with a humbling trip with the Seven Bridges ministry, providing lunch for the homeless and having the honor of praying over and for them. A bonus to the trip included a number of high school and college students here at Mt. Bethel attending, giving us the chance to meet and get to know some of the amazing students we will be graced with this summer!
Glory be to God!
Kelli McCalla
The first is our Google Earth KML of their trip plan. If you have Google Earth installed, simply load this file and it will highlight all of their stops along the way. If you don’t yet have Google Earth installed, you can download it (for free!) from this site. If you have any problems with it, please post your question in our Technical Help forum and we’ll do our best to help you out.
