From Our Pastor
We Christians seem to have a knack for turning the simple into the complex, especially in matters of faith.  And then we rack our brains trying to come up with answers that we can comfortably embrace instead of learning to live with a little mystery in our lives. But isn't this making the simple into the complex just the opposite of what we find in the flow of Scripture?  Allow me to attempt to frame this issue in terms of Commandments. 

The tradition that 613 Commandments is the number of laws in the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament), began in the third century AD when Rabbi Simlai mentioned it in a sermon.  These Commandments are referred to collectively as "the Law of Moses," or simply as "the Law". According to one line of thought, the negative Commandments number 365 which coincides with the number days in the solar year, and the positive Commandments number 248, a number ascribed to the number of bones and main organs in the human body.  Be all of that as it may, who can remember 613 Commandments?

But many folks can remember a summary of the law commonly known as The Ten Commandments.  The best known list of the Decalogue - the "Top Ten" - is found in Exodus chapter 20, verses 1 - 17.  Of the ten, seven begin with the words "You shall not."
  • "You shall not make for yourselves an idol..."
  • "You shall not make wrongful use of the Name..."
  • "You shall not murder."
  • "You shall not commit adultery."
  • "You shall not steal."
  • "You shall not bear false witness..."
  • "You shall not covet..."
The other three begin on a more positive note...
  • "You shall have no other gods..."
  • "Remember the Sabbath day..."
  • "Honor your Father and your Mother..."
Later the "Big 10" were condensed into 3 by the prophet Micah who wrote in Chapter 6 and verse 8: "He has told you, O mortal, what is good and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice (1), and to love kindness (2), and to walk humbly with your God (3)?" It's always easier to remember three of anything than it is to remember ten of anything.  But to live out these three in all of our day to day interactions, that's a horse of another color.

Moving now into the New Testament, Jesus, who has a way of "cutting to the chase," simplifies things even more.  From Matthew 22, beginning with verse 36: "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"

"Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it; You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.'"

From 613 commandments to two (actually one with two parts)...Scripture made simple in the Great Commandment.  But simple to remember does not always mean easy to do. 

Loving God and loving others...even the unlovely...Easy?  No.

Possible? Yes, but only by the Grace of God. Which by the way is available in abundant supply.

Charles
Food For the Lilburn Co-Op

The Co-op needs our help to fill the pantry. The following is a short list provided by the co-op of urgent needs:

Peanut Butter and Jelly
Mac n Cheese
Spaghetti Sauce (they have plenty of noodles)
Canned Meats: Tuna, Chicken, and Salmon
Soups
Instant Oatmeal (in pouches)
Instant Grits (in pouches)

This short list can make a world of difference for families. Remember as you buy these items that kids are about to be out of school. Many have had two meals at school each day, breakfast and lunch. These may be the only meals they eat. So pick up a few items each week donate them for the coop. Help a neighbor who is food insecure today by contributing food to the pantry at the co-op.
May Wednesday Menus

Click here to make your supper reservation now or call 770-921-8512 by noon on Monday morning.  Adults: $6.00 - Child: $3.00 - Family: $16.00.  You get all-you-can-eat, and the company is great! In addition to the menus listed below coffee, tea, lemonade and dessert are included each week.

5/4
Cinco de Mayo
Mexican
Taco salad bar
 
5/11
Hamburgers & Hot dogs
Baked beans
French fries
Cole slaw
 
5/18
Pork chops
Sweet potatoes
Green beans
Carrots
Salad
Spring Sing Wednesday, May 4 at 6:30 pm in the Sanctuary

Come and enjoy our Youth Choir, Cherub Choir(preschoolers), Carol Choir (grades K and 1), Cross Crew Choir (grades 2-6), and Genesis Ringers (grades 3 - 8)
For their end of the year program. You will be delighted!


Celebrating Our High School Graduates

Later this month the following members of our church family will graduate from High School!
We congratulate the Class of 2016!

Hayley Anderson
Jose Beher
Sara Brundige
Kylie Futral
Jenny Gallucci
Sam Gaston
Louis Gratz
Katie Hickman
Savannah Horner
Amanda Mayo
Palmer Moise
Kyle Smith
Ivan Vincent

If you know of a graduate (college, high school, or graduate school) please click here to email Merrilee Brock with their name, school, and degree.  We will celebrate our high school graduates on May 8 in both 11:00 am worship services. We will publish a listing of College and Grad School Graduates in June.
Vacation Bible School Preview Day Success!
Thanks to everyone who came out and supported our Vacation Bible School Preview Day! We had a wonderful morning.

We can't post pictures publicly yet, since the theme is a secret right now, but we're very excited about our children and youth being featured in Cokesbury's 2017 curriculum and publicity!
 
Vacation Bible School Registration Now Open!
Vacation Bible School is June 6-10, 9am-12pm; available for 3 year olds-current fifth graders. Click here to register.
 
Vacation Bible School Volunteers Needed!
We are in need of many leaders and volunteers to make this year's Vacation Bible School possible! Please prayerfully consider giving us some of your time and energy this summer to make a meaningful impact on the lives of the children in our church and community! Click here to email Rachel Hockman or you may contact her by phone at the church office, 770-770-921-8512 if you are interested in volunteering.
Children's Ministry News

Sign Up for Lego Camp!

The weeks are:
July 5-8
July 11-15
July 18-22
July 25-29
August 1-5
 
The themes for each week and registration are on the Builder Bunch Website:

 
Choose Mountain Park UMC as your location! Camps will be located in our church building in "The Park."
 
Last "Grow" of the School Year:

Our Pre-K-2nd graders have had an awesome time on Wednesday evenings this past school year in "Grow!"  Our focus has been on serving others in our church and community, always keeping in mind Jesus' command to love God and love others!  Along with focusing on key Bible stories and verses that are service-oriented, some of our projects have included making cards for our church shut-ins, decorating cookies for our local firemen, and making welcome gifts for Tyler, our new Assistant Pastor.
Our last "Grow" for the school year was April 27. We look forward to starting back up in the Fall!
 
Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast: 

We want to say a big THANK YOU to all our wonderful children and youth volunteers who have served this past school year. We will have an Appreciation Breakfast on Sunday, May 15 in the Youth Room. Drop by anytime between 9:30 and 10:00 am on Sunday May 15 for breakfast and fellowship in the Youth Room. Please RSVP to Rachel Hockman by May 8th: [email protected] or 770-921-8512.
 
Worship in the Park Update!

Having children stay in worship has been proven to be a more successful way to integrate children in the life of the church, and one of many ways to help them feel like they are a meaningful part of the church as they grow into adulthood.
 
Our goal in the Family Ministries Department is to create multiple opportunities for our children and youth to be engaged in the life of the church; sometimes this means doing separate programming, but sometimes it means doing life with the rest of the congregation. One of our more specific goals is to identify one Sunday a month for our children to stay in Worship in lieu of Worship in the Park.
 
Our prayer is that as our children grow up, "big church" will not be a scary or foreign concept to them. Please join us in supporting this decision through your love and encouragement for our children, and your understanding of occasional noises and movement in worship!
 
For the month of May, we invite our children to stay in worship with their families on Sunday, May 15. This is Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the church! We plan to create special opportunities for the children to actively engage in worship on this Sunday. 
CrossWinds Choir Tour
Cantate Domino Canticum Novum 
Sing to the Lord a New Song 

This years' youth choir tour "Cantate Domino", is just around the corner. We will be traveling to the Huntsville, Alabama area June 3-5.

We'll be staying in the youth area of Aldersgate UMC and singing at three area Senior Living Communities and two Worship Services that Sunday.
 
Some of our fun adventures will be visiting the Space and Rocket Center and cooking out and hiking at Green Mountain. It will be a packed weekend of missions, leading worship, discovering our beautiful world and growing together. If you would like to be a part of this we welcome prayer and financial support. Here is a breakdown of the approximate costs per traveler: travel $100, meals $64, Housing $0, Space and Rocket Center $15, miscellaneous $15 or about $200 per person. All donations can be labeled Music CrossWinds or Choir Tour.
 
If you would like to hear CrossWinds sing, before we leave, they will sing at the Spring Sing on May 4, in Traditional Services May 15 and Contemporary Worship May 22.
 
For additional information please contact Susan Farris at [email protected]
Preschool News

Marvelous May!! Mother's Day, Water Safety puppet show, Game Day, Water Day, Graduation, and End-of-year celebrations!

It's been a wonderful year!  See you all in August! 

Click here to download and print registration forms for next year. 

Lunches of Love is a summer feeding ministry. The Smart Lunch/Smart Kid program of Action Ministries helps us to target children nearby who receive free and reduced price lunches during the school year. Our Lunches of Love volunteers deliver sack lunches to kids in several neighborhoods throughout the summer. In addition to nourishment, our volunteers play games with the kids, read to them, and provide enrichment activities. Thousands of lunches and lots of love are delivered each summer.

Lunches of Love 2016 will begin the first week of June. There are many opportunities to volunteer and contribute to this life changing ministry. More communication will be coming this week about how you can help and what items are needed this year.  
Mountain Park United Methodist Church | 770-921-8512 | Email | mountainparkumc.org

Mountain Park United Methodist Church | 1405 Rockbridge Road | Stone Mountain | GA | 30087