Truly A Day of Celebration
By Gerry Reed Burkholder
Christian education, music, and mission ministries have combined resources
providing a special day of celebration in the life of Peakland church. Rev. Daniel Mejia, Associate Pastor of Arlington United Methodist Church, will bring the message at the 8:45 a.m. service. Rev. Mejia will share in the Fiesta Grande luncheon.
Our Christian Education and Music Ministries Celebration Sunday service will be at 11:00 a.m. The children’s choirs, various Sunday school classes, and our teachers will share in a service celebrating these ministries and God’s call for us to “follow Him” and to “feed His lambs.”
The theme for the service is witnessing. Our special Call to Worship will feature our children ages 2 through grade 2. Our children’s
choirs will also sing.
Sunday school teachers, youth, and our Spanish class will each provide special music. There will be a special twist on Children’s Moments compliments of the third and fourth grade class.
Parts of the service have been written by Sunday school classes. A member of the high school class will deliver the message.
Members of the fifth grade class will serve as liturgists and ushers.
Invite grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, and families looking for a church home to join us for this special service and plan to stay for the missions Fiesta Grande fund raising luncheon, silent auction, and special children’s activities.
FIESTA GRANDE
Sunday, May 4,
Following 11:00 Worship Service
Menu: Layered Enchiladas, Paella (stew with chicken and shrimp), Methodist Sangria; Kids: make your own tacos.
Create piñatas and join in other crafts and games; Live music by our very own “Peakland’s finest” mariachis; Friends, relatives, and neighbors are invited; Silent Auction (see article below).
Latin American and Spanish Cookbook, created by our Spanish/English Sunday School Class (Los Amigos), is available for purchase or free with purchase of two adult dinners. This is an opportunity for members of the church to support our church’s upcoming mission trips (one in July and
one in November) to Guatemala. It’s a chance to have some fun as we continue our celebration of the educational and music ministries here at Peakland.
Know that all the proceeds beyond the cost of the dinner will be used to defray the cost of teams going to Guatemala. One team will go in July to share God’s love in construction of a portion of a bible institute as well as the creation of an eye clinic and VBS for one-hundred fifty
children. The other team is scheduled to take doctors, emergency medical techs, and others to a clinic in the western highlands. Join in the effort and learn about another culture.
Silent Auction
A silent auction will be held on Sunday, May 4, during the Fiesta Grande to benefit Guatemala teams. Items to be auctioned on May 4 include: an authentic Italian dinner for ten, a TV set, various pieces of art (paintings, etc.) an ornamental “bunny” brass outside faucet, decorative garden flag
and holder, ceramic candle holder, pet portrait by Susan Crank and other items of interest.
Sunday, May 18
A Day of Joyful Recognition of God’s Call to Youth
God’s call on the lives of young people to minister touches our lives in so many ways. On Sunday, May 18, Peakland’s family has the opportunity to receive blessings from Faith Chorale, a visiting choral group,(both services) and to recognize the ministry of our own on Graduate Sunday (11:00 service).
Graduate Sunday is a special time in the life of our church when we recognize and honor our High School graduates. We get to reflect on this group of youth and how they have enhanced our church answering
God’s call on their lives. This is a large class and their dedication and love for their church has been quite evident in so many ways.
This special day in the life of our church is made even more special by the music ministry of youth from the Faith Mennonite High School’s Faith Chorale. From Lancaster, Pennsylvania, this group of twenty-five Mennonite youth will share their talents and raise their voices for the
Glory of God. What a wonderful way to pay tribute to and dedicate the ministry of Peakland’s graduates!
The Faith Chorale sings a variety of choral literature especially written for a cappella ensemble vocal groups. In keeping with the Mennonite tradition, they do not use instruments of any kind in their worship services. Therefore, they develop a wonderful sense of pitch and part singing from the cradle.
The choir has consistently received Superior and Excellent ratings in the Association of Christian Schools International Fine Arts Festival.
The choir will sing for both services, stay in our host homes, and eat lunch here before continuing their tour of Virginia. We will be receiving a love offering for them during each service. Please plan to join us, bring a friend, and give as your heart is led.
A reception will follow the 11:00 a.m. service in the fellowship hall to recognize our graduates and show our appreciation to Faith Chorale for their ministry of music.
God has blessed our church in so many ways. Guests in ministry and our very own each bring a special seasoning to our Peakland family and praise to God.
(Information for this article submitted by Jennifer Moore and Steve Cox. Edited by Gerry Burkholder.)
Music Notes
by Steve Cox
Thank you to the congregation for the fabulous response to the hymnal campaign. Things are looking fantastic for a 100%+ response by Father’s Day. The purchase of “The Faith We Sing” and “The United Methodist Hymnal” will greatly enhance the flexibility of the worship experiences.
Summer Sunday School with a Difference!
Sunday, June 1, marks the beginning of Summer Sunday School under the direction of Mitzi Boyd, Clarence McCanna, and their Summer Sunday School (SSS) team.
Construction of the new wing and renovations to the existing facility
necessitate our starting SSS earlier than we traditionally do.
The “difference” for this summer is that we are planning an intergenerational
program since we will be limited in space to the fellowship hall.
The team sees this as an opportunity to look at Sunday school ministry differently and explore ways to build relationships with all ages of the church while we individually build our faith relationships.
Different groups within the church will present the “lesson” each week.
Watch for a brochure in late May highlighting each Sunday’s focus and
ministry team. Plan to share this summer with your Peakland and personal
family, laughing and learning together as we all grow in Christ!
Gerry Reed Burkholder
Get Involved in Mission as a Family
Help others by getting together KITS FOR CONFERENCE. Every year UM churches provide kits and money for kits that will be sent to Annual Conference to be distributed by Church World Service to people in need around the world. This year our PUMC goal is to provide fifty kits. Bags for the school kits are being sewn and provided on the Mission Bulletin Board in the hall by the Church Office.
HEALTH KITS to contain: one hand towel, one washcloth, one comb, one metal nail file, one bar of soap (bath size), one tooth brush, one toothpaste 4-7 oz., and six Band-Aids. Bundle all items into the towel and tie together with ribbon or yarn. Alternatively, a donation of $12 will allow CWS to provide a health kit.
SCHOOL KITS to contain: one pair blunt scissors, pads or notebooks of ruled paper approximately 8.5” x 11” (containing 150-200 sheets of paper), one 30-cm ruler (12 inches), one pencil sharpener, six new pencils, one large eraser, twelve sheets of colored construction paper, one box of 24 crayons, and one 12”x14” cloth bag with cloth handles. Pack items in the bag, fold the top over and secure with two large rubber bands. A donation of $11 will allow CWS to provide this kit.
BABY (LAYETTE) KITS contain: four cloth diapers, two shirts, two washcloths, two gowns or sleepers, two diaper pins, two sweaters or sweatshirts, and two receiving blankets (one can be knitted). Wrap the items in one of the receiving blankets and secure with the diaper pins. A donation of $35 will enable CWS to provide a layette kit.
Bring kits to the Fellowship Hall between Sunday, June 1, and Friday, June 13. The June newsletter will have more details.
Wednesday Suppers Finish the Year with Dine-In or Carry Out Meals
The Mission suppers that started in September will be stopping for the summer after the Wednesday, May 21, meal. The meals have served several purposes: (1) To get the PUMC family together for nurture – physical and spiritual – hence the name that surfaced recently, the Body and Soul Cafe and (2) to provide a source of funding for congregational missions
projects. We have had a variety of programs and informal worship and Bible study opportunities as well as a variety of meals.
If you have suggestions as to how we might improve, please write your ideas down and put them in the suggestion box that should be around in the Fellowship Hall or the office. Ideas could include new topics for programs, new menu ideas, scheduling, costs, etc. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
We have earned several thousand dollars for our mission work here and abroad.
Warm weather and busy schedules got you flustered? Are you spending all your time at sporting events? Let us cook for you! Please sign up on the forms in the bulletin or call ahead (384-2791) for CARRY OUT ORDERS. OR come and “EAT IN” and then “RUN” to the next thing!
Date—Main Dish—Program
May 21—Lasagna, Salad, Bread, Dessert—Central VA Medical Mission (Jamaica) Team Presentation
Newsletter Deadline
Peakland Spirit is published monthly. Articles for the June newsletter should be submitted by 12 noon, Thursday, May 15. Articles received after this deadline will be used in the next month’s newsletter.
