Special Interest Activities for Adults
Cokesbury Bookstore Devotional Book Sale
Purchase selected devotional books to use for your Lenten reading.
Sundays, 9:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. in Friendship Court (at the Adult Education Table)
February 5, 12, 19
Contact Vicky Harris at vickyharris@mdumc.org
Labyrinth Worship
Too busy to pray Do you need some quiet time Do you need time to listen to God For many of us, the labyrinth is a powerful walking path for reflection, meditation, and a deeper knowledge of God. It is a symbol that creates a sacred space and place. Designed with a walking path on a large canvas, our labyrinth is a duplicate of one that early Christians used to walk at the Chartes Cathedral in France. Early Christian spiritual formation included a pilgrimage to the Holy City of Jerusalem at some point in a person’s life. Because of unsafe travel during the Crusades, the Roman Church laid labyrinths in the floors of cathedrals to help members honor this sacred commitment. A labyrinth is a single path leading to a center and back out again.
Someone will be there to give directions and answer any questions you might have. Come, walk!
Sundays in the Gym - January 15 February 12
8:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. walk anytime and feel free to bring others with you, there is no Charge
Contact Vicky Harris, ext. 129 or vickyharris@mdumc.org.
Click here to look get more information on walking the Labyrinth.
Walk the Labyrinth and Give the Gift of Shoes
Too busy to pray? Do you need some quiet time? For many of us, the labyrinth is a powerful walking path for reflection, meditation, and a deeper knowledge of God. Come, walk! Someone will be there to give directions and answer any questions you might have.
We'll line the labyrinth with men's, women's and children's new & gently-used shoes to be distributed to St. John’s UMC Daybreak Center and Mission of Yahweh. As you walk, remember our neighbors who are homeless and on the streets this spring and summer. Please bring your donated footwear with you on March 18. For more information on the shoe collection, please contact Kristy Elmore at kristyelmore@mdumc.org.
Sunday, 8:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in the Gym
March 18, No Cost
Contact Vicky Harris at vickyharris@mdumc.org
Walk to Emmaus
The Walk to Emmaus is a 72-hour (Thursday evening–Sunday evening) spiritual renewal program that is wrapped in prayer and meditation with special times of worship and daily celebration of Holy Communion. Rediscover Christ’s presence in your life and form friendships that foster faith and support spiritual maturity!
Following the three days, participants are invited to join small groups for the purpose of accountability and encouragement on the continuing spiritual journey; attend monthly gatherings for fellowship and worship; and serve on upcoming Walks as a member of the team.?
What is the purpose of Emmaus
The purpose of Emmaus is to develop leaders for the church. Emmaus will inspire, challenge, and equip participants for Christian action in their homes, churches, and places of work. Emmaus lifts up a way for our grace-filled lives to be lived and shared with others.
Who should go to Emmaus
Emmaus is open to members of any Christian denomination. Emmaus is for the development of Christian leaders who:
are members of a local church;
have a desire to strengthen their spiritual lives;
may have unanswered questions about their faith;
understand that being a Christian involves responsibility;
are willing to dedicate their everyday lives to God in an ongoing manner.
Rev. Susan Wiley shares about her Walk to Emmaus experience:?Emmaus Conference Newsletter Article
The next Men’s Walk is March 22-25 ~ The next Women’s Walk is March 29 – April 1.
Contact Anita Jacobs, Emmaus Council Chair at ahjacobs2@msn.com or Contact Vicky Harris at vickyharris@mdumc.org
Holy Week 12-Hour Prayer Vigil & Labyrinth Walk
Join us as we pray for our world, our community, our families, and ourselves during our 12-hour prayer vigil. We will also create a “food” labyrinth on the labyrinth canvas. Please bring non-perishable food items and place them on the path of the labyrinth as you walk. If you have never walked a labyrinth, this is a great time to experience the gift of the experience. Labyrinths are designed to bring rest, order, comfort, and harmony to the mind. Food donations will be collected and sent to help support the ministries at St. Andrew’s UMC’s food pantry. For more information about the food collection, please contact Kristy Elmore at kristyelmore@mdumc.org
Maundy Thursday, April 5, 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. in Wesley Hall
Contact Vicky Harris at vickyharris@mdumc.org
Earth Ministry Team Mobilizing
Do you have a passion for God’s Creation and want to make a difference? Join us in developing a team with a shared commitment to cherish and care for God’s good Earth. Discover nature as a path that leads to deeper harmony with our Creator, and help us promote ways of living out those values in our personal lives, our church and our society.
Contact Corinne Maddox at cmaddox@maddoxgroup.com, 713-806-8397 or
Contact Vicky Harris at vickyharris@mdumc.org
Fasting
Lent offers us the opportunity to glorify God by denying our own needs in order to enhance our spirit and deepen our prayer life. By fasting we take the focus off of ourselves and redirect it toward God, the true sustainer of life. Christian fasting, however, is more than denying ourselves food or some other satisfaction; it is a sacrificial lifestyle before God. According to Isaiah, it is comprised of servant ministry to others. It encourages humility, loosens the chains of injustice, frees the oppressed, feeds the hungry, provides for the poor, and clothes the naked. In serving others, we deny ourselves.
During Lent, consider: Skipping a meal once a day and giving the cost of that meal to someone in need; using your voice to speak for those who have no voice; sharing some of your time and resources with those in need. In any of these situations, recognize that you are drawing closer to God by allowing God to expand your spirit.
Journal
Keeping a journal is a gift we give to ourselves as well as those for whom we care. When we write about life challenges, both past and present, we gain clarity in our relationships with God, ourselves, and others. We begin to see patterns of how we act, relate, and think. By reading and re-reading what we’ve written, we begin to see the choices we have made and how we have changed. We see evidence of God’s work in our lives, as well as times when we have refused to let God act. Our own reflections can remind us of our inner beauty as well as humble us as we acknowledge our shortcomings.
During this Lenten season keep a journal that is a dialogue with God. Tell God what you think, feel, and need. Imagine and write down what God might say to you in response, recognizing that God loves you and wants what’s best for you. Record any other thoughts that come to mind as you look toward Easter and its meaning in your life.
Practice a Daily Examen
So that you might draw closer to Christ during this season of Lent, you are invited to complete a daily examen. Find a few quite moments in the evening (perhaps in bed before you fall asleep) and consider your day by reflecting on the following:
1. Celebrate and give thanks for the day.
2. Pray for God’s illumination.
3. Examine the events and encounters of the day.
4. Sift through the joys and sorrows, struggles, and delights, asking God for needed grace.
5. Rest in God’s amazing grace and live in hope for the new day to come!
Read The Upper Room Daily Devotional – go to www.mdumc.org
Read Alive Now Devotional Book ~ order from www.upperroom.org
Read the Pocket Guide to Prayer Book ~ order at www.cokesbury.com
Read the Upper Room Disciplines 2012 Devotional Book ~ order from www.upperroom.org or www.cokesbury.com
Sit with the Labyrinth for 1½ hours one Sunday a Month to Explain the Labyrinth to New Walkers
Contact Vicky Harris at vickyharris@mdumc.org
The Gold Standard Class
Since 2004, these classes have been offered annually with 114 people completing the course-of-study. This course is to inform, enrich and challenge those who are interested in teaching, or in becoming better teachers, for Adult Classes on Sunday morning or throughout the week. Upon completion of the 8-hour course, each participant is presented with a gold-banded church name badge, and identified as a graduate of the course in the official Adult Class Teachers’ List.
NEW for 2012 is to offer this instruction on a 1-on-1 tutoring format. If you are interested, a flexible schedule can be set up for you to emerge better equipped to join the teaching elite! No Cost.
Contact Maggie Parker at maggieparker1@comcast.net or at 713-465-6006 or Contact Vicky Harris at vickyharris@mdumc.org
Walk to Emmaus – Work a Walk this Year
Contact Vicky Harris at vickyharris@mdumc.org
Centuries Old Stress Reduction Secrets Available
Need stress reduction Want something that works better than medications and is kinder to your body Now is the time to join grandma’s and grandpa’s and centuries of men and women from around the world in their fool proof methods of stress reduction which were to spend some time each day doing quilting and/or embroidery. The materials they used were low cost or recycled, the finished product did not have to be perfect to be a source of personal satisfaction and the making of it alleviated much stress in uncertain times. If you would like to learn to quilt, embroider, knit, crochet, to do drawn thread work, make Battenberg or Romanian needle lace, to continue quilting or embroidery in a fun, supportive environment, then let us join together to form an interest group to meet at the church. ??If interested in one or more of the new fashioned way s of reducing stress, call or email Vicky Harris, 713-468-8356 or vickyharris@mdumc.org and sign up for one or more interest groups ~ please give your name, phone number, email, what group or groups interest you, the day of the week Monday through Saturday and the time of day most convenient for you.