Southport UMC Newsletter

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year No, not Christmas.   We had that.   Been there, done that.   And sure, the world has claimed Christmas in a way that makes it a little bit harder to celebrate the true meaning of the season in all of its theological depth.   We wrestle with that every Christmas season.   We’ll get back to that later.   Much later. But no, I’m talking about the true “most wonderful time of the year.”   At least as we followers of Jesus know it.   And that is the glorious season of Easter.   We are in our preparation time now, getting ready for an amazing celebration.   But this time it is less about decorating our houses and making our shopping lists, and scheduling our parties and family events.   Instead it is about preparing our souls for an encounter with the Resurrected Lord.   It’s about prayer and self-examination, maybe about denial or maybe about extra effort.   There is a wonderful Palm Sunday and Holy Week being planned.   There is a glorious experi

A lot of times we talk about youth or student ministry.   But with our emphasis on families, everyone can read this and find something to participate in. Saturday, March 10:   ALL   ARE WELCOME to join a work team that will be going to Camp Indicoso (an United Methodist Church camp) to do some work to help the camp get ready for campers coming this summer.   Meet at the church at 7:30 a.m.   Returning to the church by   6:00 p.m.   Please sign up by March 4th in the Gathering Place or by contacting the church office.   Sunday, March 18:   ALL ARE WELCOME to go as a group to the showing of a new film called “I Can Only Imagine” based around the life of Bart Millard, the lead for the band MercyMe.   The movie begins at 1:45 p.m.   After the movie, we will all be returning to Southport UMC for a meal and discussions about the movie.   Be watching for more information. BECAUSE OF THE SPECIAL TIME OF THIS ACTIVITY, THERE WILL BE NO YOUTH GROUP THAT EVENING. Youth Group wil

We welcome all women! SUMC small group Circles meet on the following dates: Rebekah Circle - Tuesday, March 13, 1:00 p.m. at Church in the Gathering Place Anna Circle - Monday, March 19, 1:00 p.m. at Rosegate in the dining area Leah Circle - first meeting of the year for a Pledge Service, Tuesday, March 20, 6:30 p.m. at China Garden Restaurant located by the church. Other March events are: World Day Of Prayer - March 2, Friday at 10:00 a.m., Center United Methodist Church on Bluff Rd. Collaborative Luncheon with Judge Sarah Barker-Evans speaking and hosted by Church Women United. This includes a pitch-in with salads and bread, Friday, March 23 from        11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at North UMC. Being a "green" group we bring our own table service, drinks (coffee, iced tea, lemonade and water) are provided. Car-pooling is available if you contact the church. Legislative Day at Southport UMC - Thursday March 8, 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. 2018 Legislative &

Southport did another awesome job for the month of February and donating food to Hunger Inc. Food Pantry.   We delivered 271 pounds of food items to the Pantry located on Epler Ave. in Perry Township.  So thanks again for stepping up and being the hands and feet for Jesus. Since Hunger Inc. has an abundance of food items donated by Perry Township schools at Christmas, we will focus on collecting food for Servants' Heart in Beech Grove and Fletcher Place in Indianapolis for the month of MARCH. Thursday, March 1 and Sunday, March 4, we will collect the following foods the pantries need: Cereal                                                            Canned Chili Pasta and Spaghetti Sauce                             Canned Meats/Canned Tuna Peanut Butter and Jelly                                  Soups Old Fashion Oats                                           Mac & Cheese                                    Variety of Canned Fruit (in their own juice/no sugar a

Our Church’s CREATION CARE TEAM has put into place the following opportunities to assist us in being better stewards of God’s creation through RECYCLING. 1. We have bins in the Gathering Place to collect Recyclable items.   Please refer to the posted sign as to what is acceptable to be placed in the bins 2. The Outside bin in the back parking lot is in place and is usually full.   Again please refer to the sign for Recyclable items. This bin may be moved in the future. 3. The following WEBSITE is very informative and we encourage everyone to read the information offered as to what are acceptable items to be Recycled.   https://raystrash.com/what-can-i-recycle/ 4. To cut down on non-recyclable cups for the coffee/tea offered each Sunday, we encourage all to bring travel cups from home to use rather than the non-recyclable cups presently available. 5. We are planning to offer more information in the month of April in celebration of EARTH DAY. Thank you for your he

LOOKING AHEAD in March March 1 and 4 – Support Fletcher Place and Servants’ Heart Food Pantries March 4 – New Member Inquiry Class, 12:45pm March 11 – Daylight Savings Time March 25 – Holy Week begins April 1 - Easter Sunday LOOKING AHEAD in 2018 Blood Drive Sundays April 29 (note date change), August 5, November 18 Interfaith Hospitality Network Families (IHN) April 8 to April 22 September 23 to October 7 Jubilee Ministry Christmas in July – July 5 through July 22 Jubilee Christmas – December 8 Ronald McDonald House Second Saturday of the month at the Ronald McDonald House Third Sunday of the month at the RMH room in Riley Hospital God’s Will Breakfast Third Thursday of the month at Fletcher Place Community Center in the Fountain   Square area Kairos Prison Ministry Men’s and Women’s Teams serving in April, October and November Food Drive Ministry Monthly food collections (usually coincides with Communion we

Thank You! I recently attended a district meeting in which Scott Swan, a news anchor for Channel 13, was the keynote speaker.   His main point was, “Don’t bury the lead.”   What he basically meant was wear your faith on your sleeve.   Keep it first and foremost so all would know who you are, and whose you are (yeah, I listen to Pastor Derek sometimes).   Anyway, I bring that up because the lead to every single financial article is thank you.   Thank you for giving, so that together we can share God’s love and grace in ways that can transform our community and proclaim our lead. First, we give thanks for one of the Saints we lit a candle for this past All Saint’s Day.   They left a generous bequeath to the church of $407,333.   They left no instructions on how to use these funds and chose to trust us to use them wisely. Next, we give thanks for our leadership team.   The task of deciding how best to utilize the above gift falls to them, and I am thankful that we have a group tha