OUR WEEK - JULY 3RD TO JULY 9TH

REMINDERS —
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29TH —
This is Pastor Lynn's last day in the ABC
Parish office.
No Dorcas-Ruth Circle this week.
No Esther Circle this week.
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
THURSDAY, JUNE 30TH —
Pastor Lynn is moving today.Drive carefully but, have a great trip!
———————————————————————
June 22, 2011
Letter from Pastor Lynn:

Dear Sisters & Brothers in Christ,
“May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
give you grace and peace.” 1 Corinthians 1:3

In a few short days I will be moving to a new
community. Bishop Julius Calvin Trimble has
appointed me to serve Jesup First United Methodist
Church effective July 1, 2011.

Bishop Trimble has appointed Rev. Robert Dvorak
to serve Adair & Casey UMC parish effective
July 1, 2011.

I wanted to say “Thank You” for sharing your lives
with me over the past five years. Together we
have had many experiences in ministry. I know
that you will always hold a place in my heart and
I will never forget you.

I ask for your prayers in this time of transition.
Every time I have had to move in the past, I have
found it is emotionally hard to leave behind the
church family I come to know and love and this
time is no different. I also know enough about
myself to say that there is a part of me that is
introverted. This part creates a challenge
emotionally as I begin to meet my new church
family. However, because of God’s promise and
faithfulness, I know I am not walking alone and
that the LORD has me in his care.

This new appointment will put me closer to my
family. I will be close enough to my son Josh,
and his family, Liz and Rhys to be able to see
them for supper following worship on Sundays.
I will be less than four hours from my sister and
her family in Wisconsin.
This will all be good for me.

My prayer is that you will trust the LORD to guide
you as you begin your ministry with Pastor Bob.
Give your best to God! Do GOOD and Do No
Harm and all will be well.

Shalom to you my friends,
Rev. Lynn C. Gardner
Jesup First United Methodist Church
455 6th St.

PO Box 271

Jesup, IA 50648-0271
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
FRIDAY, JULY 1ST —
Today is Pastor Bob Dvorak's first day in
ABC Parish. Welcome Pastor Bob!
Letter from Pastor Bob

June 27, 2011
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ:

I would like to introduce myself: I am Pastor
Bob Dvorak, and effective July 1, 2011, I will be
your pastor at the Adair & Casey United
Methodist Churches. My wife, Clara, will be
serving the Menlo UMC.

As I complete our final week at the Stuart -
Mount Vernon UMC we are finding that we are
experiencing a multitude of emotions. Good-byes
are always difficult, however I am extremely excited
to be moving to Adair and am definitely looking
forward to the challenges and the wonderful
opportunities that lie ahead in our new appointments.

I believe very strongly in God’s grace and mercy,
and am certain that He has tremendous plans for
both congregations and all of us individually. I also
believe in the fantastic power of prayer, and I invite
your prayers for our churches and for me as we
begin ministry together.

Our first Sunday will be July 3rd, and we will be
celebrating the Sacrament of Holy Communion
during that service. I would like to invite your
attendance at worship services, and challenge
each of you to make church, and your relationship
with Jesus Christ, an important part of your life.

Again, we are excited to become part of your
community, and I anticipate meeting and getting
to know each of you.

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Bob Dvorak
Adair & Casey UMC
2nd & McPherson St.
P. O. Box 165
Casey, IA 50048
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
SUNDAY, JULY 3RD —
THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
COLOR GREEN

WE CELEBRATE HOLY COMMUNION TODAY

SCRIPTURE READINGS:
GENESIS 24:34-38, 42-49,58-67
(The Message)
God's promise to bless Abraham and Sarah
required more heirs and more generations than
one. For their offspring to become a people,
Isaac would need to be married and have
children of his own. This is the story. Abraham
sends a trusted servant to find the right woman
in their current homeland, southeast Turkey,
arrange the marriage, and bring her back for
Isaac to receive as his wife.
GENESIS 24:34–38
34 The servant said, "I'm the servant of Abraham.
35 God has blessed my master - he's a great man;
God has given him sheep and cattle, silver and
gold, servants and maidservants, camels and
donkeys.
36 And then to top it off, Sarah, my master's wife,
gave him a son in her old age and he has passed
everything on to his son.
37 My master made me promise, 'Don't get a wife
for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites
in whose land I live.38 No, go to my father's home, back to my family,
and get a wife for my son there.'GENESIS 24:42-49
42 "Well, when I came this very day to the spring,
I prayed, 'God, God of my master Abraham, make
things turn out well in this task I've been given.
43 I'm standing at this well. When a young woman
comes here to draw water and I say to her, Please,
give me a sip of water from your jug,44 and she says, Not only will I give you a drink,
I'll also water your camels - let that woman be the
wife God has picked out for my master's son.'
45 "I had barely finished offering this prayer, when
Rebekah arrived, her jug on her shoulder. She
went to the spring and drew water and I said,
'Please, can I have a drink?'
46 She didn't hesitate. She held out her jug and
said, 'Drink; and when you're finished I'll also water
your camels.' I drank, and she watered the camels.
47 I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?' She
said, 'The daughter of Bethuel whose parents were
Nahor and Milcah.' I gave her a ring for her nose,
bracelets for her arms,
48 and bowed in worship to God. I praised God,
the God of my master Abraham who had led me
straight to the door of my master's family to get a
wife for his son.
49 "Now, tell me what you are going to do. If you
plan to respond with a generous yes, tell me. But
if not, tell me plainly so I can figure out
what to do next."
GENESIS 24:58–67
58 They called Rebekah and asked her, "Do you
want to go with this man?"
She said, "I'm ready to go."
59 So they sent them off, their sister Rebekah
with her nurse, and Abraham's servant with
his men.
60 And they blessed Rebekah saying, You're our
sister - live bountifully! And your children,
triumphantly!
61 Rebekah and her young maids mounted the
camels and followed the man. The servant took
Rebekah and set off for home.
62 Isaac was living in the Negev. He had just
come back from a visit to Beer Lahai Roi.
63 In the evening he went out into the field; while
meditating he looked up and saw camels coming.
64 When Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she
got down from her camel
65 and asked the servant, "Who is that man out
in the field coming toward us?" "That is my master."
She took her veil and covered herself.\66 After the servant told Isaac the whole story of
the trip,
67 Isaac took Rebekah into the tent of his mother
Sarah. He married Rebekah and she became his
wife and he loved her. So Isaac found comfort after
his mother's death.
———————————————————————
PSALM 72
(The Message)
1 Give the gift of wise rule to the king, O God, the
gift of just rule to the crown prince.
2 May he judge your people rightly, be honorable
to your meek and lowly.
3 Let the mountains give exuberant witness; shape
the hills with the contours of right living.
4 Please stand up for the poor, help the children
of the needy, come down hard on the cruel tyrants.
5 Outlast the sun, outlive the moon -
age after age after age.
6 Be rainfall on cut grass, earth-refreshing rain
showers.
7 Let righteousness burst into blossom and peace
abound until the moon fades to nothing.
8 Rule from sea to sea, from the River to the Rim.
9 Foes will fall on their knees before God, his
enemies lick the dust.
10 Kings remote and legendary will pay homage,
kings rich and resplendent will turn over their wealth.
11 All kings will fall down and worship, and godless
nations sign up to serve him,
12 Because he rescues the poor at the first sign of
need, the destitute who have run out of luck.
13 He opens a place in his heart for the down and
out, he restores the wretched of the earth.
14 He frees them from tyranny and torture - when
they bleed, he bleeds; when they die, he dies.
15 And live! Oh, let him live! Deck him out in Sheba
gold. Offer prayers unceasing to him, bless him from
morning to night.
16 Fields of golden grain in the land, cresting the
mountains in wild exuberance, Cornucopias of praise,
praises springing from the city like grass
from the earth.
17 May he never be forgotten, his fame shine on like
sunshine. May all godless people enter his circle of
blessing and bless the One who blessed them.
18 Blessed God, Israel's God, the one and only
wonder-working God!
19 Blessed always his blazing glory! All earth brims
with his glory.
———————————————————————
ROMANS 7:15-25
(The Message)
Paul reckons with the power of sin at work in his
body. Because of our own experiences, we've
been patterned to respond almost automatically
in particular ways to particular situations. Paul
describes in this reading, much the same
phenomenon — action that seems to occur
without our conscious consent.
15 What I don't understand about myself is that I
decide one way, but then I act another, doing things
I absolutely despise.
16 So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for
myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's
command is necessary.
17 But I need something more! For if I know the law
but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me
keeps sabotaging my best intentions,
I obviously need help!
18 I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it,
but I can't do it.
19 I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide
not to do bad, but then I do it anyway.
20 My decisions, such as they are, don't result in
actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me
and gets the better of me every time.
21 It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The
moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up.
22 I truly delight in God's commands,
23 but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in
that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when
I least expect it, they take charge.
24 I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the
end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything
for me? Isn't that the real question?
25 The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can
and does. He acted to set things right in this life of
contradictions where I want to serve God with all
my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence
of sin to do something totally different.
———————————————————————
MATTHEW 11:16-19, 25-30 (The Message)
Jesus reflects on the resistance of the people
to John and himself, prays to God, and invites
the heavy laden to come to him. Jesus has no
kind words to say about self-absorbed folks
playing at life and condemning others for not
playing their game. He describes their
resistance and rejection in a way that shows
how childish, it is. Too many people, even in
our day, die for one reason only: poverty
sustained by systems that enrich the self
proclaimed elite. The smug and self-centered
systems that keep the impoverished destitute
need to be confronted.
MATTHEW 11:16-19
16 "How can I account for this generation? The
people have been like spoiled children whining
to their parents,
17 'We wanted to skip rope, and you were always
too tired; we wanted to talk, but you were always
too busy.'
18 John came fasting and they called him crazy.
19 I came feasting and they called me a lush, a
friend of the riff-raff. Opinion polls don't count for
much, do they?
The proof of the pudding is in the eating."
MATTHEW 25-30
25 Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer: "Thank you,
Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You've concealed
your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but
spelled them out clearly to ordinary people.
26 Yes, Father, that's the way you like to work."
27 Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now
tenderly. "The Father has given me all these things
to do and say. This is a unique Father-Son operation,
coming out of Father and Son intimacies and
knowledge. No one knows the Son the way the Father
does, nor the Father the way the Son does. But I'm
not keeping it to myself; I'm ready to go over it line by
line with anyone willing to listen.
28 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion?
Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover
your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest.
29 Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it.
Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay
anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.
30 Keep company with me and you'll learn to live
freely and lightly."
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
MONDAY, JULY 4TH —
INDEPENDENCE DAY!We celebrate this day each year without giving much
thought to the sacrifices our ancestors made to give
us a free and independent United States. We are
hearing of much turbulence and discord in repressed
countries around the world right now.
In 1776 our people were called the "rebels".
One by one the colonies denounced allegiance to
King George III and demanded the right to be free.
On June 11th the Continental Congress appointed a
committee to draft a Declaration of Independence.
On July 4th, 1776, the United States officially declared
independence from the British Empire.
Then the war began! Some battles went well, some
went very badly. Our country with less than 3,000,000
people against a country of over 9,000,000 people.
We lost 25,000 rebels and 25,000 were wounded.
Wars cost an incredible amount of money, but it is the
lives lost that we mourn the longest. Without France
we probably could not have pulled it off. In October,
1781, Cornwallis surrendered to Washington and the
armed battles were over. In 1783 the treaty was
signed that officially ended the war. That was
FIVE YEARS OF FIGHTING FOR OUR FREEDOM. In 1885, France gave us the gift of the Statue of
Liberty. She is our most renowned icon - along with the stars
and stripes.The people are long gone who would remember the
battles, the hardships, and the sheer determination
to live in a free land. I imagine the rebels of Libya, of
Egypt, some other middle eastern countries — and
some African countries could tell us a little about
that right now. We live in a beautiful land and
freedom is a highly treasured concept -
by all mankind. We are so blessed.
Have a delightful, carefree, and grateful 4th of July.
PRAYER:
Lord God Almighty, in whose Name the founders
of this country won liberty for themselves and for us,
and lit the torch of freedom for nations then unborn:
Grant that we and all the people of this land may
have grace to maintain our liberties in righteousness
and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever.
(Book of Common Prayer, p. 242, public domain)
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
FRIDAY, JULY 8TH —
Naomi has a previous commitment today so the
OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED.
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
2011 ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Forrest Schnobrich attended the Iowa 2011 Annual
Conference with Pastor Lynn in June.
Here is a consummate summary of the issues
addressed this year.
The 168th session of the Iowa Annual Conference
convened from June 4-7, 2011. Meeting for the
second year in Des Moines' Hy-Vee Hall.
1800 clergy and lay representatives of Iowa's nearly
180,000 United Methodists celebrated, remembered,
looked to the future, listened and learned, engaged
in Holy Conferencing, shared in mission projects and
elected delegates to the denomination's 2012
General and Jurisdictional conferences.
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
FUTURE FOCUS —
JULY 9TH —THE TOWN OF CASEY WILL HAVE
IT'S ANNUAL FUN DAYS! CASEY U.M.C. WILL BE SERVING DINNER
AFTER THE PARADE. THE MENU IS
• BEEF BURGERS
• HOT DOGS
• BAKED BEANS
• CHIPS
• BARS
• DRINKS
ADULTS: $6.00 -
CHILDREN 12 & UNDER: $4.00
WE WILL HOLD A "NO BAKE" BAKE SALE.
WE STILL NEED HELPERS!
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
JULY 10TH—
• CASEY U.M.C. VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL •
WILL BE IN SESSION FROM SUNDAY NIGHT,
JULY 10TH THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT,
JULY 14TH FROM 6 TO 9PM.
OUR THEME IS:If you are able to help with VBS, call
Carol Weston - Ph. 641-742-3070
———————————————————————
Shalom to you my friends,
Pastor Lynn