an edition of
Youth Rock! | 8A
Section A
chalk talk
BY DR. KENNETH W. CHALKER
One of the great struggles in our world has always been the wrestling match between institutionalized religion and the faith experience to which that institutional religionwhen its at its bestpoints. It is a wrestling match because faith and religion are NEVER the same thing. No exceptions. For those of us who affirm and grow in faith by following in the way of Jesus Christ within the institutional religious organization called The United Methodist Church, the wrestling match between religion and faith will soon be taking place in the quadrennial wrestling tournament called GENERAL CONFERENCE. We always pray that there will be no mud wrestling involved. But, truth be told, sometimes ecclesiastical mud wrestling is exactly what occurs. The General Conference of the United Methodist Church, 2012 will convene in Tampa, Florida, on April 24 and continue through May 4. Having been a delegate to or part of the workings of General Conference four timesonce having had the responsibility of organizing a General Conference right here in Cleveland in the spring of 2000I can certainly affirm from firsthand experience that a great deal of wrestling between faith and religion goes on! But, it must also be stated that a great deal of faith enrichment and important faith witness occurs at a General Conference as well. From firsthand experience, I can likewise affirm this important truth. All the above being acknowledged, the delegates to General Conference 2012 will be wrestling with many things in regard to the institutional church. One of them will be the whole issue of the guaranteed appointment (tenure) of ordained clergy within the church. As it presently stands, once a woman or man meets the educational, psychological and spiritual qualifications, as well as standards Continued on back page
MENS LUNCH
All men of UCUMC are invited to the next MENS group luncheon, Saturday, April 14, at 1:30pm at Quaker Steak and Lube, 5935 Canal Road in Valley View. Stop by for food, fun and fellowship.
Thanks to the leadership of Hassan Lee, a member of our Facility Care Team, and the generosity of our Committee on Outreach & Local Mission, our newly renovated gym is once again being used to benefit persons age 18 and up in our neighborhood. Each Monday night for the next 10 weeks, our church is hosting a community basketball outing from 5-9pm. Participants have a safe place to play basketball, enjoy light refreshments and engage with others from the area. If you are willing to volunteer to help Hassan in this effort on any Monday evening, let him know through the church office or just show up and introduce yourself to him.
The United Methodist Reporter (USPS 954-500) is published weekly by UMR Communications, 1221 Profit Dr., Dallas Texas, 75247-3919. Periodicals postage paid at Dallas Texas. and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to: The United Methodist Reporter, P Box 660275, Dallas, Texas .O. 75266-0275.
Deadline for the next Outlook issue is Monday, April 30, 2012 outlook@churchinthecircle.com
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CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Brandon and Carrie Melgaard with sons Mason, 4, and satisfied Wiggle Room customer, Miles, 16 months; Palm Sunday Celebrants; Liturgical Dancers, who so strongly impacted Palm Sundays service.
OUTREACH in ACTION
Outlook Committee members want you to know about these opportunities to help others: HandsOn Work at MedWishApril 21, May 19 (Every Third Saturday, 10am-12:30pm) MedWish receives medical supply surplus from local hospitals, repackages the items (thats where we come in) and sends the supplies overseas to areas in need. The volunteer work is simple yet rewarding. If you are already a volunteer in the HandsOn NEO network, simply log in at www.HandsOnNEO.org and sign up. If you are not in the HandsOn network, please talk with Doug Blank (dblank3@gmail.com) about joining us. Walk for HungerSaturday, May 12 As part of UCUMC Outreachs spring focus on the nourishment-related needs of our community, we are organizing a group to participate in the Hunger Networks 24th annual Walk for Hunger. The 3.1 mile walk begins at 9:30am on Saturday, May 12, at Burke Lakefront Airport. Our goal is to bring a group of 20 participants from UCUMC, but we are hoping for many more! After the walk, enjoy a family social at the finish line at the North Coast Harbor. Anyone can register for our team by going to our team website, http://2012walkforhunger.kintera.org/UCUMC, and clicking Join Our Team. The deadline for online registration is May 7. There is also an option of registering by mail, with a deadline of April 27. For anyone who wants to contribute but not walk, donations can also be made on that website. Summer Work MissionJuly 15-21, 2012, Endicott, NY Members of our church and others will be participating in a Summer Work Mission trip to the Endicott, NY, region (about 5.5 hours from Cleveland) to reconstruct area homes and churches damaged by flooding during the 2011 summer storms. Over 15,000 families in the Southern Tier of NY (Binghamton region) were severely impacted by the flooding. A limited number of housing spaces are available for this trip. Participants will be responsible for their own expenses and transportation (carpooling available). Primary tasks are wiring, insulation, sheetrock/drywall, painting and general carpentry. AND, we still need some culinary experts/food coordinators, general cleanup/handyman assistants and a music/vesper leader. Work Mission information sessions are scheduled for Sunday, April 15, following worship and Tuesday, April 24 at 6pm. Attending either one of the sessions will better inform you of the scope of this mission. Consider offering your expertise to this important endeavor. Note of ThanksThe Missions and Outreach Committee thanks the congregation for your generous support for the March Thrift Drive. In total, 18 large bags of items were donated to the Vietnam Veterans of America and 3 large bins of items were collected for the Norma Herr Womens Center. Thank you to everyone who helped University Circle United Methodist Church make a difference in our community.
Becky Reader
Ralph Fotia
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GRACENOTES
B Y N AT H A N M O T TA
Director of Music & Arts
After an extremely busy and eventful Lenten season which included various spirituals, hymn settings, choral classics and the moving A New Creation (the Lenten cantata), those involved in Music and Arts went into Holy Week with great momentum and excitement. The many expressions of all the images, feelings and themes of this important time of year were communicated in various art forms and genres of music. And we hope you found the music on Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter to be something you could connect with and which brought new
meanings or inspirations to your personal Holy Week. Here are just some of things we have planned for the weeks ahead: l April 15a new hymn setting of the popular Easter hymn, The Strife is Oer l April 22a favorite anthem by Felix Mendelssohn with a solo by Pam Maly l April 29a Shepherd-themed Sunday l May 6a focus on worship expression through the lens of musical theatre These are just some of whats in store for the coming month as we use the excitement of the Easter season to propel us forward into the spring season. We look forward to your participation.
chalk talk
Continued from front page
Lets Rock!
Calling all Jr./Sr. High Youth who are interested in music vocals, drums, guitars and more! Join us for a unique music opportunity: four short weeks of rehearsals to share a song during worship on May 20 (Confirmation Sunday). Kristen Klehr, a recent BaldwinWallace grad in percussion performance, has volunteered to help us rock on! Come meet Kristen and get the details on April 15 immediately following worship in the youth room (near south entrance to the balcony). Contact Dawn McElrath or Sharon Seyfarth Garner with any questions.
Membership Invitation
If you have thought about becoming a member of University Circle United Methodist Church, this is a perfect time to make that decision. New members will be welcomed into this vibrant family of faith on New Member Sunday, April 29. If you would like to join us, you are encouraged to contact Judy Sockman, Coordinator of Membership and Volunteers, at the church, 216-421-1200 or jsockman@churchinthecircle.com, for more information. You are also asked to attend two events in preparation for membership, to be held on Wednesday evening, April 18, and Sunday, April 22, after worship. Be in touch with Judy for more specifics. And WELCOME!
established by the United Methodist Church, is recommended by an Annual Conference Board of Ordained Ministry to be elected as a full member of an Annual Conference and then is recommended to the resident bishop of that Annual Conference for ordination as an Elder in the Church, that person (still with me?) is guaranteed an appointment (a pastoral charge) for the rest of his or her years of ministry within that Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. As United Methodism has experienced decline in the United Statesso much so that many churches have been closedthere has been great scrutiny on the performance of clergy leadership within the denomination. While many dedicated and able men and women carry out their calling as pastors of local churches , there has been the growing concern that some persons presently serving and guaranteed an appointment in the church as a pastor should not be continued in this role. So, one of the wrestling matches within our institutional religion will be the question of changing the practice of guaranteed appointment of ordained clergy. How do you think faith should inform such decisions? No matter where and no matter what, life issues are not easy. We wrestle and struggle with many things. Few if any things of lasting value are easy or just happen or just endure or just develop. There are no guarantees! And, to be sure, in this sense there are no guaranteed appointments either. Because life issues are not easy, whether at a general conference or in our own homes, each of us must cultivate a vital spiritual life; a
spiritual life in which faith can grow. Trying to live our lives and sort through the complex issues that come our way without a vital, growing faith would be like going through the rituals of religion, or leading the rituals of religion, while advancing nothing greater than a self-serving assurance of guaranteed appointment for our security. Faith elicits from us far more than this. The experience of Christ, for example, changes things by demanding of us our best our best efforts and our best stewardship of our lives in response to the grace we have received. Such best efforts transcend and change religion. Indeed, such efforts advance the Kingdom of God. In this regard, in the calling to advance the Kingdom of God, in which we all share, it is petty at best, and shameful at its worst, that followers of Jesus ordained for that effort should be arguing for a guaranteed appointment or for having job security as a primary goal in ministry.