July and August Newsletter 2023

Moscow UMC July/August 2023 Newsletter Pastor Lori Robinson [email protected] MoscowMUo1ns2ict6oeCdwh,MPuAertchh1o8Sd4ti4s4t Church office(@57m0o)8sc4o2w-7u2m51c.com

Table Of Contents 2 Pastor’s Letter 5 Financial Update 7 From the SPRC 8 Trustee Report 9 Graduation Sunday 11 Vacation Bible School 13 Donation Station 14 Christian Connections 15 Learning Tree Preschool 17 Foundations in Faith 20 Upcoming Community Events 21 From the District and Conference 1

Pastor’s Letter Each of you should use whatever gift you have re- ceived to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10 Welcome to summertime, when the sun is warm and it seems this year, the thunderstorms are occurring often. It is a season of enjoying God’s great outdoors from simple walks and picnics to large gatherings and family vacations. Enjoy every opportunity God blesses you with in Summer 2023. July brings the celebration of Independence Day. It is a holy benefit to live in the good ole’ USA. We need to always be in prayer for the place we call home on earth. In recalling our liberties as Americans, it reminds us even more to recognize our primary identity as God’s people, believers in Jesus our Savior, called to respond to the plentiful godsends and provisions we are given every day and eternally. We are truly blessed! How then can we each as God’s beloved, forgiven, freed child, live out the verse above? One way to keep track of our Christian living is by, not taking but intentionally making, the time to be in devotion to God daily and writing down our loving re- sponse to serve and use our gifts to God’s glory. Then periodically look back and see what our spiritual 2

actions did to make a difference for others, those we know and those we don’t at first, yet God allows us to encounter and share an experience for learning and faith building with, sometimes just for a joyful moment of a smile and uplifting kindness. Praise be to God for those moments. There is MUCH to be done at and accomplished through our beloved MUMC. Essential extensions of remaining obedient to our privileged obligations of unity in being and doing the best for God’s Church, while spreading it and building it to reach more of the lost, needy, outcast, are many. We need to use our God instilled gifts in unison with our fellow MUMC family members to shine grace that our parish will show the area what the best stewardship is to make God’s original desire for creation a future reality. In other words, live out our purpose for the salvation story and keep the mission of Jesus progressing as the generations did before us and we are, with the Lord’s leading, for the generations that will come after us when our journey of passing through the world is done. We have a limited amount of time to keep grace in motion, improving the world in numerous forms. Soon, some ongoing and new ministries, both within and about the church building, to encourage and 3

support one another, increase discipleship, and communicate God’s Word in outreach, will prayerfully increase. Don’t be surprised when your personal, divinely arranged call comes. Begin pondering your gifts now to be fully ready to say yes to God’s summons in breathing life to the given verse from 1 Peter, that God’s Word will come off the pages of the Bible to speak and show the message of help and hope people are waiting to receive from God through you. Happy, holy serving to you! 4

Financial Update June Offering Income: $11,551. Expenses: $12,272 (-$721) YTD Offering Income: $69,043. Expenses: $76,489 (-$7,446) June 30th General Fund Account Balance: $14,921 6 months of Ministry Shares are paid. Monthly: $1,470.74 Year-to-date: $8,824.44 General Fund Year-to-date Total Income: $79,613.94 less the following for a total of $69,043.16 $ 7,122.36 Trustees Fuel Oil Reimbursement $ 570.00 Building Use $2,878.42 Fundraiser Income $10,570.78 Total Extra Income to the General Fund 5

Thank you to everyone for their faithful giving. We need all the Church (the people) to keep current on their stewardship pledges and gracious contributions of their bib- lically based tithes and offerings. It makes being the Church active in ministry and mission possible, plus keeps us up-to- date on our daily operations and maintaining our facilities to be secure and welcoming for all God’s people to worship and gather in the presence of God’s House. All we do, we do to glorify the Lord, for all our Lord provides for our lives. If not for our Lord’s sacrificial love, we would have nothing, yet we have been blessed beyond what we could imagine. Let us stand firm in our call of loving one another through the sharing of Christ’s everlasting love in action with all people we divinely are guided to cross paths with and through our continued giving of the time, talents, abilities, resources, and gifts, that are richly bestowed upon us. A big THANK YOU to those who assisted in making the busy June fundraisers and activities successful. Continue to bring your offerings to worship or send in your tithes and offerings to the church. We also still have other options for consistent, convenient offering. Those are through PayPal found on the church website or setting up EFT. ALL offerings are much appreciated and needed for us to be the Church in celebrated response to ALL our Lord showers upon us. 6

From the SPRC The SPRC is currently accepting applications for the Financial Secretary position and the Church Secretary position. Anyone interested can contact the SPRC Chair at [email protected], contact a member of the SPRC, or call the church office at 570-842-7251. As we move through the transition of hiring a new Church Secretary, there will be no set office hours. Pastor Lori will still be keeping her office times. If you need anything, please call for an appointment. 7

Trustee Report The trustees continue to look for someone who would contract for the snow removal for the 2023-2024 winter season. The prayer garden is almost finished. Some old Bibles and hymnals which were found around the church are set to be buried with prayer and care during the construction work. There is a diagram of how the prayer garden will look when it is finished. We thank Billy Havenstrite for his dedication and hard work as he completes his Eagle Scout project. Aqua PA has been very helpful in keeping us updated in their construction work. There were no problems parking on Church Street. An anonymous donor has offered to provide new floor mats for inside the narthex doors and outside the narthex doors. We thank them for their donation. As always if you see something that needs attention, please contact the pastor or any of the trustees. 8

Graduation Sunday On Sunday, June 11th, the Moscow United Methodist Church celebrated Graduation Sunday to honor all high school students who are members of the church. This year two high school graduates were selected to receive the Melba and August Fleckenstein Memorial Scholarship from an endowment set up in 2013 by Mr. Keith Fleckenstein to honor the memory of his parents who were life-long members of the church. Olivia Bassi, daughter of Chris and Tara Bassi, will be attending the University of Connecticut to major in neo-natal nursing. Olivia is an accelerated honor student who has secured all applicable advanced placements. James Lucia, son of Katie Burnett, will attend Mary- wood University to major in graphic design engineering. James is a member of the National Honor Society and sil- ver medalist for Skills USA. He is also an IT tech for the church streaming service. Rebecca Edwards, daughter of Thomas Edwards and Sharon Kelly was awarded the Colocicco-Schlett Bell Choir Scholarship named to honor the memory of Heather Schlett and Christopher Colocicco, North Pocono High School students who were victims of drowning. Re- becca will attend the Penn State University main campus and major in pre-med and mathematics. She is an honor student who took AP courses all through high school and is a member of the National Honor Society. Rebecca also excelled at soccer, volleyball, and lacrosse. 9

From Left to Right: Patrick Verrastro, James Lucia, Olivia Bassi, Rebecca Edwards, David Lamm, Pastor Lori Robinson 10

Vacation Bible School July 17th-19th 6:00 p.m.-8:15 p.m. AVALANCHE RANCH “Take a Wild Ride Through God’s Word” VBS is about a week away! Are you ready yet?! We are busy preparing to have a Yee Hew Wahoo good old fashioned time at Avalanche Ranch. One never knows what happens at Avalanche Ranch for every day is new and exciting! Our little ranchers will learn that God is – REAL, WITH US, STRONG, AWESOME, IN CHARGE. 11

We will gather around the campfire nightly for the opening presentation to listen to the Bible Story, learn the Bible Verse of the evening, and sing songs together. Then, the kids will move through themed stations of games, music, snacks, crafts, to enhance and learn more about the Bible story. This year’s Bible stories are – Joshua Leading the Israelites Safely into the Promised Land, Daniel and the Lion’s Den, and Jesus Calms the Storm and Walks on the Water. So, invite your family, friends, and neighbors to stampede on down to Avalanche Ranch for a VBS adventure! Watch for our annual float in the area parades too! VBS Sunday will be on July 23rd when the kids shall be inspiring us with God’s Avalanche Ranch lessons during worship and possibly having VBS worship continue outside for the annual pie-in-the-pastor’s (and helper’s)-face(s), IF the little ranchers make their goal for the VBS mission. Don’t miss the fun in the Son. There are lots of church learning chores to be done with a guaranteed happy harvest ending, WON! 12

Donation Station The Donation Station collection through July 16th con- tinues our annual item preparation for Vacation Bible School. These items include: Frosted wheat cereal, small water bottles, M&M’s, juice boxes, small twist pretzels, red licorice bites, raisins, graham crackers, vanilla icing, plain Hershey chocolate bars, vanilla ice cream cups, oreo cookies, Maraschino cherries for the snack station. We are also in need of financial donations to purchase some craft and other special supplies for Avalanche Ranch. July 23rd through the month of August, we will be col- lecting school supplies. Watch the weekly Parish Notes and member emails for a detailed list of school supplies needed. During May, we received enough donations through the Donation Station to make 22 Care Kits for Mission Central. Thank you for your giving for those in need to receive and feel God’s care. 13

Christian Connections The virtual Bible study, Christian Connections, will meet on the following dates in July: 11th and the 25th. Please join Christian Connections on Tuesday evenings at 6:15. The link to join is sent out weekly. Have you made the time to nourish your spiritual soul with fellow Christians recently? It makes a big difference in strengthening your daily walk of firmly living your faith principles through the ever changing society we reside in, brings honor to God, and provides much bonding joy and support from those who partake in making Christian Connections. 14

Learning Tree Preschool Hello Summer! Our last month of school was definitely one to remember. Preschool reached the end of the alphabet, made some cool summer crafts, played freeze dance on the smartboard, and ended the school year with an ice cream sundae party which included unlimited toppings and, of course, extra sprinkles. Pre-K worked hard on reviewing everything we learned this school year and enjoyed sight word readers, summer crafts, outside time, and popsicles to stay cool. They ended a successful school year with a beautiful graduation held in the sanctuary, followed by a reception in the social hall with lots of yummy treats. 15

Mrs. Lavelle and I would like to thank all of our students, parents, preschool board, church community, and supporters! Every member of this community has inspired and encouraged us with your patience, courage, donations, and dedication to the Learning Tree Preschool. The past school year has been truly amazing, one to remember full of many new adventures and opportunities, which has made this community stronger. We thank God for all of you and are looking forward to the fall with new faces and full classes. Enjoy the sunshine!!! 16

Foundations In Faith BLESSED ASSURANCE Text: Fanny Crosby (1820-1915) Music: Phoebe Palmer Knapp (1839-1908) Born in 1820 in the United States, when middle class women had little to NO voice in general and even less in worship, Fanny Crosby became one of the most prolific gospel song writers of all time, contributing over 8,000 hymns. Blind at the age of six weeks from improper medical treatment, Fanny was a lifelong Methodist who began composing hymns at age six. She became a student at the New York Institute of the Blind at age 15 and joined its faculty at 22, teaching rhetoric and history. Fanny Crosby often used music as the inspiration for her hymns. Her dear friend, Phoebe Palmer Knapp played a melody for her and asked, “What does this melody say to you?” Crosby replied, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!” and proceeded to recite the entire first stanza of the now fa- mous hymn. Blessed Assurance was published in 1873 in the monthly magazine edited by Joseph Fairchild Knapp and Phoebe Palmer Knapp, Guide to Holiness. It is one of the ten most popular hymns sung by United Methodists and has been included in every Methodist hymnal edition since 1889. 17

Fanny Crosby lived to be 95 at a time when the life expectancy in the early 1800s was 30 – 40 years. Because of her longevity, she had an extraordinary relationship with several United States presidents, even writing poetry in their honor for special occasions. She was influential in the spiritual life of or a friend to Presidents Martin Van Buren (8th), John Tyler (10th), James K. Polk (11th) and Grover Cleveland (22nd and 24th). She also addressed a joint session of Congress on the topic of education for the blind. Fanny Crosby is buried in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Her tombstone reads: “She hath done what she could.” (Mark 14:8) Indeed. Other familiar Fanny Crosby hymns included in our hymnal: To God Be the Glory (p. 98), Rescue the Perishing (p. 591) 18

Phoebe Palmer Knapp was born in New York City and was an amateur musician. She married Joseph Fair- child Knapp, founder of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, and he had a pipe organ installed in their apartment. She and her husband were members of the John Street Methodist Episcopal Church of New York City, where Fanny Crosby was also a member. She and Fanny became lifelong friends. This tune called “Assurance” is her most famous, but she is also the composer to the very popular Palm Sunday choral aria, “Open the Gates to the Temple.” 19

Upcoming Community Events MARK YOUR CALENDARS AND COME OUT FOR THESE GREAT, MEANINGFUL OPPORTUNITIES TO SPEND TIME WITH NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS! The 20th Annual National Night Out is Tuesday, August 1st. We will be hosting the community service and leading the candlelight walk through town to the borough building. It is vitally important to support and offer encouragement to those who take risks to keep us safe in our local neighborhood. Join in the festivities 5:00-9:00. We will pass along the full event activities and times as soon as we receive them. Hope to see YOU out and about for the National Night Out! The Moscow Country Street Fair is July 27th – 29th. The church will host the Cultural Society Art Show in the Social Hall and the Quilt Show in the Sanctuary. We will be selling our homemade, delicious Welsh Cookies, other church activities and events are being planned, and watch for our float in the parade. 20

From the District and Conference Contact Information for the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Supervisory Area Superintendent: Rev. Judy Walker [email protected]; 570-550-5049 (call) Administrative Assistant: Elsa Rodriguez [email protected]; 570-901-1569 Office Location: 40 Knob Hill Road, Trucksville, PA 18708 (Trucksville UMC Education Building) Office Hours: Monday through Thursday 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM SUPERVISORY/DISTRICT WIDE PRAYER WEDNESDAYS, 7:45 AM Plan to join together by ZOOM on Wednesday mornings at 7:45 AM for 30 minutes of intentional prayer. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89722373231?pwd=YUl- BRm1ya1U0OWZ2dllVNFJsdXM4UT09 Meeting ID: 897 2237 3231 Passcode: 711244 21

WELCOME TO PORTICO! https://susumc.org/portico/ This new Learning Management System (LMS) will be another resource to support our Conference mission to grow spiritual transformational leaders, equip vital congregations and create new places for new people, and connect with each other and the world. This learning portal is in partnership with The West Virginia Annual Conference and conferences all over the denomination. Some courses will be developed to be Susquehanna specific and others come from the various participating conferences. You are free to enroll in any course you wish, but we will indicate in the course description which courses are for credit. Our learning portal is called Portico in reference to ancient places where people would gather for learning. An example of this is Solomon’s portico in John 10:23 where Jesus taught and Peter healed the lame man in Acts 3:11. Remember, new courses are added all the time so check back often to see the latest learning opportunities. 22

VIM IMMIGRATION IMMERSION JOURNEY: SEPTEMBER 16-22 Tucson, Arizona Partnering with Arizona Justice for our Neighbors (AZJFON), join the Susquehanna Con- ference VIM team for an Immigration Immersion Journey. We will learn about the immigration crisis with the intention of conveying that knowledge to our churches, ministries, and circles so as to support the relief efforts. Must be 18 years old or older and have a valid US Passport. 9 spots are available. Approximate- ly $400 plus airfare and meals. If interested, contact Susquehanna Conference VIM Coordinator, Michelle Schwartzman at [email protected]. PETITIONS TO GENERAL CONFERENCE Petitions must be received by mail, email or via the official online General Conference 2024 Petition Submission Form by the Petitions Secretary no later than 11:59pm / 23:59 CDT, Wednesday, September 6, 2023. Instructions for preparing petitions can be found at: bit.ly/GC2024petitionform. 23

Thank you all for your continued support of our ministry and outreach programs. We are always looking for extra help to work towards our mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. 24