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Greetings! I often hear the complaint: "I am not actively involved with a church currently because I fail to see the relevancy of the church to the real world." [Really? Really!] Only last week, Friday, at the premiere showing of the new Batman movie presentation 50 + people were injured and 12 lost their lives in a movie theater located in Aurora, Colorado. Only recently Jerry Sandusky, the #2 man on the coaching staff of the Penn State Football Team, was convicted on many counts of sodomy and other lewd and lascivious acts. Is there any question in your mind whatsoever that evil was present in the persons responsible for these acts? With such heinous and horrendous events as these filling the network news and the newspapers, how does anyone justify saying the church is not relevant to today's cultural society? (Someone better explain that to this preacher!)
I believe now more than ever (at least I can say that for my experience and lifetime) people need Jesus Christ and an affiliation with the community of faith. This is the time for church renewal.
The economy has displaced many individual workers at all levels to include middle-management and corporate executives as well, from their formerly secure positions of employment. That is not necessarily evil at work, but there is a certain amount of greed that is present and has prompted decision making boards to hire persons not living within these United States.
Does the church have a message for victims of senseless violence and domestic violence that is so prevalent? Is the church still able to provide hope to those who have lost their source of income? I believe we do, how about you? Are you with me?
Jesus renewed people with the power of his compassion. I like the ancient legend about the monk who found a precious stone, a precious jewel. A short time later, the monk met a traveler, who said he was hungry and asked the monk if he would share some of his provisions. When the monk opened his bag, the traveler saw the precious stone and, on an impulse, asked the monk if he could have it. Amazingly, the monk gave the traveler the stone.
The traveler departed quickly, overjoyed with his new possession. However, a few days later,
he came back, searching for the monk. He returned the stone to the monk and made a request: "Please give me something more valuable, more precious than this stone. Please give me that which enabled you to give me this precious stone!"
The gift of God's love is still available in the person of his Son, Jesus Christ. God has called and is still calling persons to be his children through faith in Jesus Christ.
I know we are in the middle of the summer months, but it is not too early for our church, Allendale, to be in prayer for a clear revelation of God's vision for our church. Our prayer must be that God reveal and remind us of what God is blessing in our community. God blesses those who seek him and his favor. And, because we are the people called Methodists here in northeast Saint Petersburg, God wants us to reach out beyond these walls to minister to the needs of our neighbors in the name of Jesus, his only Son.
How do you see yourself sharing the message of salvation with others who may have forgotten or never indeed heard that God truly loves them? As part of the leadership at Allendale church, what vision is the Holy Spirit of God directing you to make Jesus real and relevant to hurting folks in our community?
Each committee exists to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. How will your team/committee project the plan to fund your team in making Jesus real in 2013?Has your team/committee caught the vision? Even if you are not currently serving on a team, where and how is God calling you to use your spiritual gifts to touch people's lives and lead them to repentance and faithfulness in Christ? Get on board; Catch the vision!!
See you in worship,
Pastor Ronnie |
This past May Allendale hosted The Chick-Fil-A Leadercast event. Part of the program was an interview with Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow conducted by Soledad O'Brien. At the End of the interview a short film was shown showing the work of Tim Tebow's foundation the Wish 15 Foundation. This video is 30 min. long but I'm sure you will enjoy and be inspired by this young athletes witness.
 | | Tim Tebow interview and the Wish 15 Foundation |
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Visioning Workshop
Part 2
It's time to put a period on the Visioning process. Come be a part of this important process as we outline a vision of what kind of church Allendale will be in the future.
When: Saturday, August 25
Time: 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
A light breakfast will be served
from 8:45 to 9:15 am
Changes are coming!
Be a part of Allendale's legacy!
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From Sandy Ross, Director of Music
(cell 430-1316; caseychev@aol.com)
CHANCEL CHOIR. Due to the impending birth of Alexis' baby girl at the end of August, the lovely and talented Beverly Ambler will be playing all 11am services and Thursday Choir Rehearsals for the month of September, 2012. Alexis will be back with us in October. Bev, thank you so much for lending us your talents during our time of need. Alexis, we will be praying that all goes well with the birth and we can't wait to meet your darling girl. If the birth should come early, Bev is on "stand-by" to play Sunday services during August.
SANDY'S VACATION. Sandy will be out-of-state on vacation from AUGUST 14 through SEPTEMBER. 1, and will be back with you on SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2.
CHANCEL CHOIR will resume rehearsals on Thursday, September 6 at 7pm, and will perform on Sunday, September 9, 2012.
CALLING ALL SINGERS: New members for the choir are always welcome and needed. No singing experience necessary. Please call or email Sandy any time for further information.
CHILDREN'S CHOIR: Children's Choir will resume rehearsals beginning on Sunday, September 9, with first performance being on Sunday, September 30. Children's Choir is open to children grades K-8 and meets in the choir room at 9:15am on Sunday mornings. This is a wonderful opportunity to introduce your child to music and worship leading.
REMINDER TO CHOIR AND INSTRUMENTALISTS: Please return "used" music to the file basket in the Choir room or the one next to the organ in the Sanctuary.
INSTRUMENTAL ENSEMBLE: We want to grow our Instrumental Ensemble. If you play an instrument, no matter what level, please consider joining us. Contact Sandy for further information.
SOLOS/SMALL ENSEMBLES: Soloists, vocal or instrumental, and small musical ensembles are welcome and encouraged to perform - please contact Sandy for further information.
TECH TEAM: Volunteers are always needed to run the projector, sound, and prepare slides for Sunday services. Contact Sandy if interested.
PRE-SERVICE SLIDES: Sandy prepares the Pre-Service Slides (Announcements) which are shown before each service. If you have something you want announced on the Pre-Service Slides, please email Sandy your slide(s) prepared on Powerpoint, or if you don't have Powerpoint, send the text you would like and Sandy will prepare the slide. You can also email photos.
Special Christmas Program
As reported last month, we have received an invitation from Robert Drick, Director of Sacred Arts at Pasadena Community Church, to participate in a Community Christmas Concert with a performance of Carols and Songs of the Season. We look forward to hearing Ed Hempel's report on the informational luncheon he will be attending on Sat., August 18, while I am on vacation.
Gospel Night Anyone?
What does everyone think about the idea of having a Gospel Night sometime this choir year? We could perhaps combine it with a dinner and invite other churches to participate. I would love to hear your thoughts on this as such an event takes months of planning in advance, so we would need to get started soon if we decide to go forward.
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Life Line Screening At Allendale
Tuesday, August 21
Family Life Center
¨ Stroke/Carotid Artery Screening
¨ Heart Rhythm Screening
¨ Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
¨ Peripheral Arterial Disease Screening
¨ Osteoporosis Risk Assessment
All 5 screenings for only $149, a savings of $126. Pre-registration is required. Call 1-800-324-1851. Priority Code: HSC3618
On line go to www.lifelinescreening.com/community-partners.
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UM Women
Remember summer is a good time to clean out those closets and storage areas. The flea market room is open for donations. Stop and get the key from the church office. We are accepting household items, small working appliances, books, videos, children's toys, linens, clothing, shoes, purses.
Calendar of Events:
August 11 Summer Fellowship District Meeting
1:30-3:30 Ice Cream Social, Seminole UMC
September 4 UM Women Ext. Board Meeting 6:30 pm
September 7-9 Conference Spiritual Retreat, Leesburg
September 17 Stringing of Ditty Bags, 6:30 pm, FLC
October 15 Stuffing of Ditty Bags, 6:30 pm, FLC
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| AUGUST CELEBRATIONS
August Birthdays
Beth Beale
03
Joy Niccum
04
Justin Wells
05
Charlee Gregory
10
Elaine Hartill
10
Patrick Henderson
15
Adrien Helm
17
Kathy Gatlin
18
Lynn Hardt
18
Linda Woodward
19
Karen Haas
20
William Thomas
20
Christine Roberts
21
Charlie Radigan
28
Roy Smoak
28
Camden Hopkins
30
August Anniversaries
Phil & June Kurtz
August 3 65 years
Maryann & Richard Ormiston
August 8 9 years
Tony & Denise Antonewitz
August 14 21 years
Robert & Kathleen Grainger
August 20 18 years
Ed & Laurie Hempel
August 21 38 years
Jack & Suzy Hutto
August 24 44 years
Cliff and Diana Footlick
August 24 32 years
Nancy & Richard Wall
August 29 20 years
Elyse & Ryne Haley
August 30 4 years
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Service Saturday
Our Service Saturday Team volunteered at the Salvation Army's "Sallie House" on the third Saturday of July. Sallie House is a shelter for children who have been removed from their home because of abuse or neglect. We were blessed as we spent the morning providing activities for the children and helping with their care.
Our Service Saturday team will be gathering on the third Saturday of August (August 18th) at Allendale UMC at 8:30 in the morning. Because of the warmer weather in August we are working at our church instead of outdoors on the Pinellas Trail. The trustees will be deploying us around the church that morning to complete various cleaning and maintenance jobs which are important to help our church appear more inviting.
We'll be volunteering at the Salvation Army Homeless Shelter on the third Saturday in September and will return to the Pinellas Trail in October. Hope you will join us in serving our community!
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ALLENDALE CHILDREN'S CENTER
"Where Children Are the Center"
Exciting news for the Children's Center...
We are opening a brand new, state of the art, VPK classroom on the second floor (rooms 211/212) for the 2012-2013 school year!!! This classroom is big enough to hold two VPK classes and will have all brand new furniture and materials to get students ready to succeed in Kindergarten. In addition, students will have their own private bathroom complete with three stalls and two sinks, as well as access to new computers, a writing center and a library. This year all VPK students will be assessed using the Department of Education's VPK Assessment Kit and data will be entered into an online reporting system so teacher's can track students' progress throughout the year.
We want to graciously thank Trustees, especially Cheryl Volkman, Church Council, especially Charlie Radigan, the ACC Advisory Board, especially Diane Gibson and as always, Bob Grainger for all their support and hard work. We could not bring the Center into the future without your continuous dedication to our success.
We are currently finishing up our summer camps that will end on August 17th. The weekly themes for August will be as follows:
August 6-10: Favorite Author Week and "Water Play Day" on August 10th
August 13-17: Teacher's Choice Week (this could get interesting)
The Center is looking for new enrollments in our three year old classrooms. Please spread the word and let everyone know about the wonderful work our staff is doing here. Remember that tuition includes three (3) meals per day and is below the current market rate for the area because we cater to "working" families. Superb education and care at a great rate!
Look for our annual, "Back to School Picnic," date in September's Bellringer.
In God's Love,
Jeni Lyn Smagacz
Preschool Director
 | | Allendale Childrens Center Graduation 2012 |
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Community Garden
In September our church will be offering 8 garden plots (6'x30') to folks who would like to grow vegetables, but may not have a place of their own to plant a garden. The plots are $20 each and run from September to February.
A New Tool for Recycling
We welcome a new recycling container to our church kitchen. You probably know that we already have a container near the soda machine for recycling aluminum cans. Now we have added a container in the church kitchen to collect plastic bottles for recycling. If you have an empty plastic milk, soda, juice or water bottle, please throw away the cap and rinse the bottle and deposit it in our "plastic recycling" container. Instead of adding to the mountain of trash at our county landfill, you will have sent your plastic container on a journey to be transformed into something useful.....a park bench, new carpet, roofing material. Your Allendale Green Team thanks you!
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Area Agency on Aging
By Clark Evans
AREA AGENCY ON AGING OF PASCO-PINELLAS, INC. is seeking information from individuals to provide an accurate reflection of the needs of seniors in Pinellas County. Interested persons 60 and older are invited to please take five minutes to complete a survey which may be accessed via Internet at www.surveymonkey.com/s/SeniorSurveyAAAPP. Response must be entered by 8/10/12
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Our Ministry to the Women's Residence
The St. Petersburg Free Clinic Women's Residence is a short-term transitional housing program that provides a safe place for single women to stay for one to six months as they work on goals for independent living. The 20 bed residence provides a supportive environment which includes meals, clothing, counseling, skill training and help finding permanent housing. Our "Women's Residence" Outreach Team enjoys preparing and serving dinner at the Women's Residence on the first Tuesday of each month from 6 pm until 7:30pm. We join the women for dinner and fellowship and also celebrate birthdays of the residents each month.
Our next service date is Tuesday, August 7th. We are always looking for new folks who would like to be a part of this ministry. For more information you can call Suzy Hutto (906-9454) or contact the church office.
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SEAR USA Notes from Rex ALMQUIST in Viet Nam. Summer Vacation Bible School August 1, 2, 3, in the Christian Mission School.
Bottom picture: The new Christina Mission Church in Da Nang, not yet compl
eted. Sear is very appreciative of your faithful prayers and support. |
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God Pie
Click on the arrow to watch video
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Join a Small Group and grow in relationship with God and each other
Tuesday Night
Womens Prayer Group
Every Tuesday
5:30 pm -6:30 pm
We join together each week in the chapel lifting up the needs of our church family,our community and our world. We welcome anyone who would like to request prayer or join
with us in praying for others.
"For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them." Matthew 18:20
Midweek Groups
Wednesday Night
Bible Study
Leader: Pastor Ronnie Jones
7:00 pm in the Wesley Room
Class is over until September
Wednesday Night
Youth Group
Leader: Ruthie Kitchen
UMYF for 6th-12 grade,
5:30 pm to 8:00 pm (FLC)
Time is spent on devotions, prayers,
dinner & games
Sunday Classes for Adults
Winsome Workers
10:00-10:30 am-Room 113
Leader: Rev. Tom Gregory.
Book of study Bad Girls of the Bible
Crosstraining
10:00-11:00 am-Wesley Room
Leader: Bob Grainger
This discussion group deals with a wide range of contemporary issues from a Biblical perspective and how they impact Christian living. Great class for debates.
Happy Helpers
10:00-10:30 am -Room 115
Leader: Mike Footlick
This 30 minute Bible discussion group is designed for persons who assist in t 11 am worship service.
Friendship Class
10:00-11:00 am -Chapel
Leader: Darwin Reedy
This class studies New and Old Testament themes from Genesis, Exodus, Luke and Galatians. Study of blessings old and new; end results to give us hope.
Sunday Classes for Youth
2-4 year old class
Room 108
Teachers: Helen Thomas & Susan Grainger
Story time and crafts
K-3rd grade class
Room 212
Teachers: Lynda Beltz and Diane Gibson
Bible lessons and sharing
4th-5th grade class
Room 211
Teachers: Suzy Hutto & Marla Radigan
Bible lessons and sharing
Middle School & Senior High
Teachers: Diane Manown & Ruthie Kitchen
Bible based lessons, change every week.
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Lost and Found
Click on the arrow to watch this short video |
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"Wow" Cards
Amy Sands sends a big "Wow" to Laurie Hempel for all the wonderful things she has done for our church. She is amazing.
Martha McMillan sends a "Wow" to Diane Gibson for doing a wonderful job on our Vacation Bible school. Things went very smoothly.
Diane Gibson sends a "Wow" to all those involved with VBS. For all the hard work each one did to provide an exciting and fun-filled time for all the kids. God bless you!!
Jenny Baldwin sends a big "Wow" to Grey Welsh, Diane Gibson, Jeff Ishman and Rachael Welsh for putting together our church directory. Great job, they spent hours on it
Congregational Care
By Darwin Reedy
Be Organized
Be Highly Motivated
Be Competitive
Be Goal Oriented
Good Self Esteem
Be Positive
Be Physically Fit
Be Mentally Alert
Be Spirit Based
Be Cheerful
Do Not Procrastinate
Be Willing to Change
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The Good-O-Meter
Click picture to watch |
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