Revive, Renew, & Reach

Intentional Faith

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens - Ecclesiastes 3:1

There is a time, there is a season, for all things. To everything, turn, turn, turn. What season are we in now? All around us, we see signs of Spring and hopefully, prayerfully, signs that the season of pandemic is drawing to a close – Lord, hear our prayers. We had a time of intentional prayer during Lent and we celebrate the risen Lord always.

I am blessed to work with a group in our church on the Good Neighboring Experiment (GNE). We will be meeting with 5 other churches in May to talk about our experiences and to celebrate abundance, joy and relationship with God. Soon, the brown bag Bible study resumes (Thursdays, 11:30) and people continue to join the church. I think about these ideas with the same anticipation of the recent rains. We celebrate the abundance of gifts within our congregation. In the same way we celebrate something new.

Spring in the church!

My new favorite sign of Spring came on a recent Monday. I received the awesome gift of getting to serve at Light on the Hill, working alongside friends and strangers, Christians, young and old. All of us serving in the pouring rain. I couldn’t help but think what a fuller vision of the Kingdom of God this experience is, where the things that separate us in the world begin to fall away. We were all neighbors sharing love and resources in a mutual time of giving glory to God with the gifts we bring. At the same time, I witnessed my Christian sisters and brothers being very intentional about living out their faith, living as a people who follow a resurrected Lord and Savior. Being an Easter people – thank You, God, that we are singing Hallelujah after a long season of lament, confession, and repentance that is Lent – we were able to share Christ by serving in a needful situation, praying with others in struggles, and inviting people into the mission.

Spring in the community!

We’re exploring several ways to engage more intentionally with people in loving relationships. Ministries are taking initiatives in Discipleship through our care group and Sunday morning small groups.

Yet, we have a strong need. Our missions are struggling – we need a leader with imagination that knows our people, community, and vision for serving others beyond the walls of the church. For those who are already volunteering in our focus organizations, thank you! Our experiences outside of the church are relational connections. How do we point to God? In so many ways, we are seeking to more fully align with God, a striving for all of our seasons.

Spring in our lives to take into the world!

What season are you in now? How can we be together as the body of Christ at Bethany to help you spring into the new life that God has for you?

Peace, Pastor Glenn

Marsha is on vacation!  Jessie Putnam, who many of you know, will be filling in while she and her family are enjoying some time away.
The bells will resume practice on May 9 at the usual time and place.

Prayer Requests from the People

As a reminder, prayer requests need to have the following information:

• First and Last Name of the person for whom we are praying
• Relation to the person submitting request
• Name of the person requesting the prayer and a phone number for questions

When using the online prayer request module, please put the person's Name (first and last) as the Prayer Title.  This will help us quickly determine if the request is new or an update on a previous request for that person.
 

Morning Prayer with the Pastor is Wednesday, May 4 at 9:30am in the sanctuary.

 

The 4-week Breaking Bread Bible Study begins Thursday, May 5th, from 11:00am-12:30pm.  Please contact the church office for more information.  Bring a bag lunch to enjoy with the group!

Coffee With The Pastor

Coffee with the Pastor is on Wednesday, May 18 at 10:00 a.m. in the parlor.  It is open to the congregation & would love for those who are
new or returning to come and enjoy.
 

   The first response in any ministry is to “do no harm.”  We currently have six people approved through the Safe Gatherings process.  If you serve in this church and serve vulnerable adults, children, or youth then part of our ministry is completing Safe Gatherings training which is helpful for understanding the responsibly of our volunteers.  The registration fee is covered by the church and there are three sessions that can all be completed online.
For more information, contact the church office or go online to register at https://safegatherings.com/.
For more information on Rio Texas Safe Steps and TRUSTed con Confianza policies and training links please go to www.riotexas.org/safestep.   

VISIT YOUR LIBRARY

By: Rosalie Pinson

Spring, with all its new growth, is well upon us. Have you enjoyed the blooms of the Redbud and Ornamental Pear trees....and the purple blossoms of the Mountain Laurel bushes a few weeks ago? They are usually our first brushes of color as Spring arrives.

We've had fewer Texas Bluebonnets and other wildflowers this year, but they are still a welcome sign of Spring.

Are you ready for a new outdoor project, or putting in a few new flowers, or vegetables, in a garden at your home?

Here at St. Paul's Library, there are several books in the collection about gardens, birds, and Springtime.

A few titles are mentioned here to help you read about, and appreciate your outdoor spaces:

Native Texas Plants - Sally & Andy Wasowski

A Garden to Keep - Jamie Langston Turner

What Makes the Seasons? - Megan Monatgue Cash

The Vegetable Book - Dr. Sam Cotner

Patios and Decks - Coleen Cahill

The Private Lives of Birds - Calvin Simonds

A Hummingbird in My House - Arnette Heidcamp

Birds of Texas - Keith A. Arnold

Be sure to come into the library, peruse the "Spring" section, and check out a book, or two.

HAPPY READING!      HAPPY SPRING!
 

The library is staffed on Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. until noon, and is open on Sundays. If it is locked, please ask someone in the office to open it for you.

Four points of prayer will include:
1) People of Ukraine
2) Countries who are supporting Ukraine
3) Russia leadership and the military
4) Peace for all involved
 

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UNITED WOMEN IN FAITH TO MEET MAY 10^th

All women are invited to the unit’s regular monthly meeting on May 10, 1:30 P.M. in the church parlor.  Members will review books from the UWF Reading Program as follows:

      Alicia Smith – The Boy Who Delivered Joy by Marvin Bartlett.
      Lynette Wedig – Separated at the Border by Gena Thomas.
      Sara Armstrong – Finding Jesus at the Border by Julia Forrest Fogg.
      Dolores Schroeder – The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes
                                            the World – Melinda Gates
      Marylin Davis – We Are Called To Be A Movement by Rev. Dr. William Barber III.
  UWF will not meet during the summer, but resume for the new season in September.

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The SPUMC Care Givers team had a busy April, beginning with the delivery of the alter Sunflowers which were in honor of Ukraine.  And along with the sunflowers, we delivered and mailed the Easter cards which were signed by the Pastor, the Care Givers team and many others from the Church family.

The second Sunday in April was Palm Sunday and we delivered bouquets with palm branches.

The third Sunday was Easter Sunday and the alter bouquet was beautiful.

And as we are reminded, “He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.”
 2 Corinthians 1:4 (NLT).  That’s our job.  The SPUMC Care Givers team looks forward to delivering flowers and visiting with the home bound in May.  Thank you for your prayers and support.
 

MAY ALTAR RAIL MISSION EMPHASIS      
Lydia Patterson Institute

 "Lydia Patterson Institute is committed to providing an environment in which Christian faith, values, and knowledge converge to give students a cross-cultural, academic, and state-of-the-art education, by creating opportunities to develop skills to succeed and transform a changing world." 

Lydia Patterson Institute has responded to the need for a quality education within the community of the Juarez-El Paso Border Region for over 100 years. Graduation rates of students exceed 98% of those entering as freshmen and over 96% of the graduates continue their education at colleges across the US. Many whom do not speak the English language when they arrive, yet will be successful bilingual college-bound students upon graduation.

Thank you for supporting this important mission!   

Local Charities we support with financial contributions and/or volunteers!

• Light on the Hill
• Christian Assistance Ministry
• Hill Country Youth Ranch
• Doyle Center
• Kids Advocacy Place & Crisis Center Shelter
• Mission: Lydia Patterson Institute
• The Dietert Center (meals on wheels)
   

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Happy Spring!

May is a busy time for everyone with graduations, school ending, and people getting ready for summer vacations. I hope everyone’s plans are coming along smoothly.

Speaking of smooth, the new equipment seems to be working quite well with minimal glitches. We are no longer using the Livestream.com account and you will need to go to our website under the sermons tabs to find our past videos. The videos are also archived on our Facebook page and you can find past services on there. It is wonderful to be able to stream to both places.

I am doing some research as it seems to be a buffering on some desktop computers during the live service when watching on the website. If there is an issue for you, I need the following information to work with our website service provider.
Time
Browser
Internet speed (at the time it is buffering)

Type of internet connection (wireless, ethernet cable, name of provide)

Is anyone else using your internet at that time and what were they doing?
(example: streaming a movie, playing a game, browsing online)

To help determine the speed at the time, you can use the following browser internet speed site:

www.speedtest.net

This information can be emailed to me at technology@spumctx.org

I would like to be able to address these issues as soon as possible to make a better experience for everyone.

If there is another platform you would like to see us stream on instead of Facebook (like YouTube) please let me know. I want to make our services available wherever is most convenient for everyone.

As a reminder, I am taking 5^th Sundays off and therefore live streaming isn’t available on those days. There may be a week that I will not be here during regular services and if you or anyone you know would like to learn the system and how to run Sundays, let me or the office know. I will gladly train you. Also, if you know of anyone who would like to learn more and earn some money, I do have room to add someone to my team.

Have a great week and see you Sunday!!!

Be Blessed!

Judy Phillips

Technology Coordinator

Online Giving!

This is a fast, easy and secure way to make contributions to the church. The website is partnered with PayPal to provide a secure checkout process and protect your information.
The link to the Giving Online form is found on the Home page of our website.  We are charged a small processing fee which you have the option to help us cover with your contribution. This is completely optional; however, please be aware if you choose not to help cover the processing fee, the amount that the church receives your contribution less the amount of the processing fees.
Example: a $20 contribution has a $0.91 processing fee. If you choose not to cover this, then what the church will receive is $19.09.

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