Southport UMC Newsletter

On July 5 several carloads of adults and youth travel to Upper Sand Mountain Parish in Alabama. Our mission team will spend a week serving in the Upper Sand community    remodeling homes, working in the cannery, assisting in the thrift shop, painting, doing yard work, and addressing any other needs that come up. Some team members are skilled while some are learning skills.   Some are retired and some are still in elementary school. All will work daily, share meals, have devotions, pray, and play games, while building relationships, expressing love to new friends, and serving others. Nearly 30 people will experience the mission trip this year supported by your donations to Faith Promise. The participants contribute to the food and gasoline costs. Faith Promise covers the $175 per person fee paid to Upper Sand. This money is used for purchasing supplies and materials for the work that will be done. Thank you for making this possible!

Kairos Prison Ministry offers men many opportunities to serve.   The facility closest to home is the Plainfield Correctional Facility. Kairos is going into that facility for a weekend in the fall. Other correctional facilities where men can serve include Pendleton, New Castle, Putnamville and Wabash Valley.   To see more information, go to kairosofindiana.org.   If any men in our congregation are interested in serving, contact the church office for more information. For those who might have reservations about serving inside a correctional facility, you might want to discuss prison ministry with any of the seven women from SUMC who have served during the last two years.    If you would ask any of those involved, you would find a positive response from each one about how meaningful this ministry has been to them.   They have served at both the Rockville Correctional Facility and Indiana Women’s Prison.

The ministry of Jubilee Christmas serves families by providing gifts, food, and personal care items on Jubilee Christmas day. The 2015 date is Saturday, December 12. We know that family and children’s needs aren’t only during the holidays so we choose to express Jesus’ love for them throughout the year. With the input of school social workers, nurses, and staff, we are learning effective ways we can address some of the needs of Perry Township families. By partnering with Homecroft Elementary School, we are able to identify the many daily needs and emergencies that come up. We all can contribute to making a difference for children, their families, and the school staff. Specific information for hands-on opportunities will be available at the Next Steps table and suggested needs listed on the tag boards. Discover how you can serve with Jubilee Christmas in December. Host a family, assist the planning team, shop, sort, or set up. Participate in our partnership with

Dear Friends, By the time you receive this newsletter, I will have already presented my first sermon in the new sermon series.   This series will extend throughout the summer all the way through September.   In this series, which explains the expanded length, we will be examining Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church.   We will go through the entire book passage by passage. I have entitled this sermon series “The Intent of God” because I believe that the emphasis and direction of the Book of Ephesians reveals a lot about God’s purpose and plan for each of us.   I want to share the schedule for this series so that you will be aware of which subjects will be coming up.   I am also listing the scripture so that you can read that scripture prior to the sermon if you so choose. June 25 & 28 “The Intent of God:   God’s Purpose and Plan for Us”   Ephesians 1:1-14 July 2 & 5 “The Intent of God: God’s Desire for Us”   Ephesians 1:15-23 July 9 & 12 “The Intent of God: