• EARTH DAY IS TUESDAY THE 22ND •
Earth Day is a celebration of our amazing
planet and a chance to learn how we can
best take care for it.
• The first celebration of Earth Day took
place on April 22, 1970, making 2014's
observance the 44th anniversary of Earth
Day. President Bill Clinton awarded
Senator Gaylord Nelson the Presidential
Medal of Freedom in 1995 for his role as
Earth Day founder.
• Although Earth Day originated in the
United States, it went global in 1990 with
140 countries participating in a celebration.
In 2000, more than 180 countries took part.
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• NASA is asking people to take a photo of
themselves outdoors (a selfie) and post it
to social media using the hashtag
#GlobalSelfie address.
• The annual Lyrid meteor shower will peak
in the early hours of Earth Day.
• Homes and vehicles account for half of
all American greenhouse gas emissions.
• The world's population is swarming into
large cities because there are no jobs out
in the country.
• • Panther Caucus Newsletter from the
University of Northern Iowa says:
“This year for Earth Day, 200 volunteers
from the campus and surrounding area,
will plant 6,500 trees to replace trees that
were damaged by the 2008 floods and are
otherwise infected by insects.
In 2014 Earth Day is focusing on city
projects because of additional population
moving to the cities in search of work.
work with than others.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23RD —
A-C MINISTERIAL ASSOCIATION MEETING
AT 11:30 A.M.
• CONFIRMATION PRACTICE IN ADAIR
U.M.C. will begin at 6 P.M. this evening.
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SATURDAY, APRIL 26TH —
BE OPEN FROM 9 A.M. TO 11 A.M.
• BRIAN MILFORD'S GOING AWAY PARTY
AT GRISWOLD U.M.C. TODAY FROM 1 P.M.
TO 4 P.M.
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SUNDAY, APRIL 27TH —
SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER
Easter is a season. It is a season too for
teaching the “mysteries of the faith”.
It is a time to help the newly baptized, and
all the baptized, discern, claim or reclaim
their spiritual gifts.
COLOR: WHITE OR GOLD
We will have Holy Communion today.
• THIS IS CONFIRMATION SUNDAY • ————————————————————
SCRIPTURE READINGS —
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ACTS 2:14–32
THE MESSAGE (MSG)
Peter declares the resurrection of Jesus to
a crowd amazed at the signs of the Spirit's
presence and power.
PETER SPEAKS UP
14-21 That's when Peter stood up and,
backed by the other eleven, spoke out with
bold urgency: "Fellow Jews, all of you who
are visiting Jerusalem, listen carefully and
get this story straight. These people aren't
drunk as some of you suspect. They
haven't had time to get drunk—it's only
nine o'clock in the morning. This is what
the prophet Joel announced would
happen:
"I will pour out my Spirit
on every kind of people:
Your sons will prophesy,
also your daughters;
Your young men will see visions,
your old men dream dreams.
When the time comes,
I'll pour out my Spirit
On those who serve me, men and women
both,
and they'll prophesy.
I'll set wonders in the sky above
and signs on the earth below,
Blood and fire and billowing smoke,
the sun turning black and the moon
blood-red,
Before the Day of the Lord arrives,
the Day tremendous and marvelous;
And whoever calls out for help
to me, God, will be saved."
22-28 "Fellow Israelites, listen carefully to
these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man
thoroughly accredited by God to you—the
miracles and wonders and signs that God
did through him are common knowledge
—this Jesus, following the deliberate and
well-thought-out plan of God, was
betrayed by men who took the law into
their own hands, and was handed over to
you. And you pinned him to a cross and
killed him. But God untied the death ropes
and raised him up. Death was no match
for him. David said it all:
I saw God before me for all time.
Nothing can shake me; he's right by my
side.
I'm glad from the inside out, ecstatic;
I've pitched my tent in the land of hope.
I know you'll never dump me in Hades;
I'll never even smell the stench of death.
You've got my feet on the life-path,
with your face shining sun-joy all
around.
29-36 "Dear friends, let me be completely
frank with you. Our ancestor David is dead
and buried—his tomb is in plain sight
today. But being also a prophet and
knowing that God had solemnly sworn
that a descendant of his would rule his
kingdom, seeing far ahead, he talked of
the resurrection of the Messiah—'no trip to
Hades, no stench of death.' This Jesus,
God raised up. And every one of us here is
a witness to it. Then, raised to the heights
at the right hand of God and receiving the
promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father,
he poured out the Spirit he had just
received. That is what you see and hear.
For David himself did not ascend to
heaven, but he did say,
God said to my Master, "Sit at my right
hand
Until I make your enemies a stool for
resting your feet."
"All Israel, then, know this: There's no
longer room for doubt—God made him
Master and Messiah, this Jesus whom
you killed on a cross."
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PSALM 16 (UMH 748)
THE MESSAGE (MSG)
A SONG OF DAVID
1-2 Keep me safe, O God, I've run for dear
life to you.
I say to God, "Be my Lord!"
Without you, nothing makes sense.
3 And these God-chosen lives all around
— what splendid friends they make!
4 Don't just go shopping for a god.
Gods are not for sale.
I swear I'll never treat god-names
like brand-names.
5-6 My choice is you, God, first and only.
And now I find I'm your choice!
You set me up with a house and yard.
And then you made me your heir!
7-8 The wise counsel God gives when I'm
awake
is confirmed by my sleeping heart.
Day and night I'll stick with God;
I've got a good thing going and I'm not
letting go.
9-10 I'm happy from the inside out,
and from the outside in, I'm firmly
formed.
You canceled my ticket to hell—
that's not my destination!
11 Now you've got my feet on the life path,
all radiant from the shining of your face.
Ever since you took my hand,
I'm on the right way.
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1 PETER 1:3–9
THE MESSAGE (MSG)
This passage notes the “various trials” the
newly baptized and other Christians he
addresses are having to undergo. He then
compares these trials to a “testing by fire”
that helps separate gold from other
minerals. The temperatures required to
purify gold vary from 1000 to over 1900
degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the
method used. We do not metaphorically
associate the word “crucible” with a very
severe trial for nothing!
We have been born anew and granted an
imperishable inheritance in the Risen Lord.
A NEW LIFE
3-5 What a God we have! And how
fortunate we are to have him, this Father
of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was
raised from the dead, we've been given a
brand-new life and have everything to live
for, including a future in heaven—and the
future starts now! God is keeping careful
watch over us and the future. The Day is
coming when you'll have it all—life healed
and whole.
6-7 I know how great this makes you feel,
even though you have to put up with every
kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure
gold put in the fire comes out of it proved
pure; genuine faith put through this
suffering comes out proved genuine.
When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your
faith, not your gold, that God will have on
display as evidence of his victory.
8-9 You never saw him, yet you love him.
You still don't see him, yet you trust him—
with laughter and singing. Because you
kept on believing, you'll get what you're
looking forward to: total salvation.
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JOHN 20:19–31
THE MESSAGE (MSG)
This story is not only about Thomas, but
about Jesus Christ. It reminds us, the
body of Christ, to go to similar lengths to
show the signs of Christ's resurrection to
those who doubt so they may come to
believe.
TO BELIEVE
19-20 Later on that day, the disciples had
gathered together, but, fearful of the Jews,
had locked all the doors in the house.
Jesus entered, stood among them, and
said, "Peace to you." Then he showed
them his hands and side.
20-21 The disciples, seeing the Master with
their own eyes, were exuberant. Jesus
repeated his greeting: "Peace to you. Just
as the Father sent me, I send you."
22-23 Then he took a deep breath and
breathed into them."Receive the Holy
Spirit," he said. "If you forgive someone's
sins, they're gone for good. If you don't for-
give sins, what are you going to do with
them?"
24-25 But Thomas, sometimes called the
Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them
when Jesus came. The other disciples told
him, "We saw the Master."
his hands, put my finger in the nail holes,
and stick my hand in his side, I won't
believe it."
26 Eight days later, his disciples were again
in the room. This time Thomas was with
them. Jesus came through the locked
doors, stood among them, and said, "Peace
to you."
27 Then he focused his attention on
Thomas. "Take your finger and examine my
hands. Take your hand and stick it in my
side. Don't be unbelieving. Believe."
29 Jesus said, "So, you believe because
you've seen with your own eyes. Even
better blessings are in store for those who
believe without seeing."
30-31 Jesus provided far more God-
revealing signs than are written down in
this book. These are written down so you
will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the
Son of God, and in the act of believing,
have real and eternal life in the way he
personally revealed it.
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• 1861 - West Virginia seceded from
Virginia after Virginia seceded from the
Union during the American Civil War.
• 1865 - On the Mississippi River, the
Side Wheel River Boat Sultana exploded
while carrying 2,300 Union soldiers who
had just been freed from Confederate
prison camps. Between 1,400 - 2,000 died.
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MONDAY, APRIL 28TH —
THE OFFICE IS CLOSED TODAY.
“MADE TO CRAVE” AT CASEY UMC
Desire with God, Not with Food.
“MADE TO CRAVE” is a New York Times
bestselling book.
Look it up on line: www.MadetoCrave.org
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• 1788 - Maryland became the seventh
state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
• 1789 - Mutiny on the British ship Bounty
took place when a rebel crew took over
the ship and set sail for Pitcairn Island.
The mutineers set Captain W. Bligh and
18 sailors adrift in a small boat.
• 1932 - Yellow fever vaccine for humans
was discovered.
• 1947 - Norwegian anthropologist Thor
Heyerdahl and five others set out in a
balsa wood boat known as Kon Tiki to
prove that Peruvian Indians could have
found a way to Polynesia. The trip began
in Peru and took 101 days to complete the
crossing of the Pacific Ocean.
• 1997 - A worldwide treaty to ban chemical
weapons took effect. Russia, Iraq and
North Korea would not sign it.
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TUESDAY, APRIL 29TH —
Happy Birthday Kevin Beattie!
Happy Birthday Scott Lewellen!
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• 1429 - Joan of Arc led Orleans, France,
to victory over England.
• 1672 - King Louis XIV of France invaded
the Netherlands.
• 1813 - Rubber was patented by J. F.
Hummel.
• 1852 - The first Roget's Thesaurus was
published.
• 1861 - The Maryland House of Delegates
voted against seceding from Union.
• 1862 - New Orleans fell to Union forces
during the Civil War.
• 1913 - Gideon Sundback patented the
all-purpose zipper.
• 1941 - The Boston Bees changed their
name to the Boston Braves.
• 1945 - The German Army in Italy
surrendered unconditionally to the Allies.
It is estimated that between September
1943 and April 1945, some 60,000 Allied
and 50,000 German soldiers died in Italy.
No campaign in the West (Mediterranean,
Middle East and Western Fronts) cost
more than the Italian campaign in terms
of lives lost and wounds suffered by all
infantry forces.
• 1945 - The Nazi death camp, Dachau, was
liberated.
• 1952 - IBM President Thomas J. Watson,
Jr., informed his company's stockholders
that IBM was building "the most advanced,
most flexible high-speed computer in the
world."
• 1975 - The U.S. embassy in Vietnam was
evacuated as North Vietnamese forces
fought their way into Saigon.
• 1988 - Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev
promised more religious freedom.
• 1990 - The destruction of the Berlin Wall
began.
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30th ————————————————————
• 0030 - Jesus of Nazareth was crucified.
• 1250 - King Louis IX of France was
ransomed for one million dollars.
• 1789 - George Washington took office as
first elected United States' president.
• 1803 - The U.S. purchased the Louisiana
Territory from France for $15 million,
(about 4 cents an acre) plus cancellation of
debts worth $3,750,000. Land purchased
was all of Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri,
Nebraska, Oklahoma, and parts of South
Dakota, North Dakota, Colorado, Texas,
Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming, Louisiana,
New Mexico. It included parts of Alberta
and Saskatchewan in Canada as well.
Since New Orleans controlled the mouth of
the Mississippi River, it was an essential
purchase.
• 1812 - Louisiana was admitted as the 18th
U.S. state.
• 1900 - Hawaii was organized as an official
U.S. territory.
• 1947 - The name Boulder Dam, in Nevada,
was changed back to Hoover Dam.
THURSDAY, MAY 1ST —
• 1486 - Christopher Columbus convinced
Queen Isabella to fund an expedition to
the West Indies.
• 1863 - In Virginia, the Battle of
Chancellorsville began. General Robert E.
Lee's forces began fighting against Union
troops under General Joseph Hooker.
Confederate General Stonewall Jackson
was mortally wounded by his own soldiers
here.
• 1867 - Reconstruction in the South began
with black voter registration.
• 1931 - The Empire State Building in New
York was dedicated and opened. It is 102
stories tall and was the tallest building in
the world at the time.
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FRIDAY, MAY 2ND
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• 1670 - The Hudson Bay Company was
founded by England's King Charles II.
• 1776 - France and Spain agreed to donate
arms to American rebels who were fighting
the British.
• 1926 - In India, Hindu women gained the
right to seek elected office.
• 1933 - Hitler banned German trade unions.
• 1941 - The Federal Communications
Commission agreed to regular scheduling
of TV broadcasts by commercial stations
starting July 1, 1941. This was the start of
network television.
• 1994 - Nelson Mandela claimed victory
after South Africa's first democratic
elections.
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SATURDAY, MAY 3RD ————————————————————
• 1802 - Washington, DC, was incorporated
as a city.
• 1855 - Macon B. Allen became the first
African American to be admitted to the Bar
in Massachusetts.
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FUTURE FOCUS —
• SUNDAY, MAY 4TH –
SENIOR RECOGNITION IN CASEY
Honoring London Vais and Chris Draman
• MAY 7TH —
Adair U.M.W. will meet at 9 A.M.
Thank you for all of your contributions this
week. They keep us rolling along. You are
indeed an important spoke in the wheel.
When everyone pulls together, it's amazing
what can happen!
God Bless and Keep You,
Donna
