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JULY 2025 |
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THE CROWS NEST |
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SPRINGDALE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH MONTHLY NEWSLETTER |
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INSIDE THIS MONTH'S ISSUE |
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BIRTHDAYS |
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1 - Pam Wilkerson 2 - Zachary Maxson 6 - Michael Lindberg 8 - Stacey Schropp 9 - Sharon Vincent 10 - Sherry Wolf 13 - Brittany Hamer Julie Mathe Diane Phillips Dylan Wolf Brandon Wolf 15 - Xander Bowers 17 - Connie Pace 18 - Alex Miller 20 - Bill Manning 23 - Denise Lain 24 - Shae Farmer Jessica Grace 26 - Casey Hesseltine 28 - Ben Tisinger 30 - Jason Grandt Jo Leighty Dean Wilkerson |
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ANNIVERSARIES |
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3 - Jerry & Trish Irey (27) 7 - Taylor & Kristen Westpheling (7) 18 - Gordon & Jessica LeDoux (5) 20 - Josh & Tracey Hartz (23) 28 - Jamie & Margi Boles (7) |
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UPCOMING EVENTS |
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7 - VBS Kitchen Cleanup and short meeting, 5 p.m. 9 - UMW, 6:30 p.m. 10 - Cedar County Fair Church Day 20 - VBS Begins 27 - VBS Program and Potluck 28 - UMW Bingo @ Crestview, 2:30 p.m. |
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REBECCA'S REFLECTIONS |
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Happy Anniversary! As we begin our third year together, I want to once again thank you all for making this ministry at Springdale so joyful and fulfilling for me. I never expected that in retirement I would have such a great congregation to serve and to grow in faith. I look forward to what the next year may bring for all of us. As the last two years have shown, our lives are filled with joy and sadness, laughter and grief, faith and doubt. May our next year together be a time of new opportunities and activities. I am excited to see what will happen and hope that you are too!
Our outdoor service was hot, windy, and a lot of fun. Thanks to Steven and all the Graces for getting things set up and cleaned up; and to Manda for staffing the kitchen so that lunch was ready to go. It was a fun morning, and we got to welcome lots of neighbors and friends!
This month brings our big event of the year—VBS. Volunteers are still needed so sign up today either online or talk with Paula, Jessica, or Katie.
Blessings this month and for the coming year.
Rebecca |
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Hello, world!
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JULY WORSHIP |
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Theme for the Month: Welcome the Stranger July 6 Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, Communion Scripture: Galatians 6:1-10 Sermon: “Carrying Our Loads”
July 13 Scripture: Luke 10:25-37 Sermon: "Who is my Neighbor" July 20 Scripture: Luke 10:38-42 Sermon: "Sisters"
July 27 VBS Program with potluck |
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SONG OF THE MONTH |
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UPCOMING August - Breakfast Items Cereal and Granola Bars Pop Tarts Juice Boxes Pancake Mix Syrup
September - Baking Items Flour Sugar Baking Soda Baking Powder |
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WEST BRANCH FOOD PANTRY |
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This year, the COME committee will be collecting non-food items for the West Branch Food Pantry. Collections will continue through the entire month and you can find the collection bin in the foyer of the church. Any items collected will be distributed to the pantry after the 4th Sunday of the month.
July - School Supplies Washable markers 24 packs of crayons Glue sticks Dry erase markers 1" binders Pocket folders Pre-sharpened pencils Scissors Rulers Pencil Pouches Wide lined spiral notebooks Pencil top erasers Colored pencils
Total donated through May $1,016.95* |
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*Price determined by a Google search of average costs |
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NATURE CONNECTS US TO GOD |
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Time spent outdoors can strengthen our faith and reveal a deeper meaning in our daily life. God equipped us with five senses to help us discover and better appreciate the natural world – it’s up to us to step outside, engage and explore. Few could say they’ve experienced this more than Jack Layfield. In 2019, at age 67, Layfield served as a chaplain on the Appalachian Trail, hiking 2,192 miles through 14 states in 6 months. Layfield’s unique perspective opens the way for all of us to understand how nature can be a balm for our soul and an invitation to reflect. “In everyday living in our world, all five of our senses are bombarded. We just have so much coming to us 24/7,” says Layfield. Being intentional about spending time in nature, and paying attention while we are there, can help us find peace.
LOOK “At a young age I knew that God had created [nature], from the very little things that we see to the great, majestic things,” shares Layfield. “That was one of the things that was so good about the [Appalachian Trail]. There were the tiniest of wildflowers, the tiniest of little creatures. But then also there were the mountains with beautiful vistas when you reached the top."
Put it into practice: Go outside or gaze out of your window. What’s the smallest thing you see? The biggest? Take a moment to marvel at God’s creativity and your own place in creation.
Read Scripture: Psalm 96:11-12
HEAR When people ask Layfield why he hiked the trail, he answers, “I love being out in nature, I love enjoying God’s creation. But the other reason is, after a while, I was able to experience the quietness of the trail, where I’m not bombarded by sounds. I felt like I could hear God speaking to me.”
Put it into practice: Layfield begins each day by sitting on his back porch, listening to the birds and soaking in the quiet stillness of the morning. Try this for yourself one day this week. Bring along your cup of coffee and a Bible.
Read Scripture: John 10:27-30
TASTE “On the trail, I had ramen noodles almost every night,” mentions Layfield. “And people say to me, ‘How did you eat that day after day?’ I can’t really say it tasted bad. I always looked forward to it. I think being outdoors, in nature, it enhances the taste somehow. That’s not a scientific thing, but for me, I think it has.”
Put it into practice: Pack a simple snack or meal and find a picnic spot. Eat slowly, with intention, and savor each bite. Give thanks for your surroundings, the food and anyone who might be with you.
Read Scripture: Psalm 23
SMELL “The things that we smell, we really don’t notice them unless it’s something really outstanding, like an apple pie baking in the oven.” Layfield says. “On the trail, after hikers had been hiking for 2, 3 or 4 months, there was a phenomenon that we’d be hiking and a day hiker would be coming the other way, and as they were at least 20 feet away, we could smell that hiker. It was a pleasant, usually soapy smell.”
Put it into practice: Sit outside for several minutes and close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths. What do you smell? Try to identify more than one scent. Remember that from this earth, God created you.
Read Scripture: 2 Corinthians 2:14-17
TOUCH “I have a little garden and I like digging in the dirt… I don’t know why people that garden do. Maybe there’s something about it that brings us all back into touch with what we once were,” suggests Layfield. “Maybe it all goes back to the Garden of Eden. I guess all of this maybe does.”
Put it into practice: Plant a seed. Hold the dirt. Get muddy. Care for your new plant over time and touch the leaves once they sprout. Think about the growth cycle and how you might emulate it in your spiritual life.
Read Scripture: Genesis 1:9-12
TAKE THE CREATOR'S PEACE TO OTHERS Layfield remembers many acts of kindness along the trail. A woman offered him a ride in spite of his smelly, dirty appearance. Someone left thermoses of hot coffee and donuts for people to find as they hiked through the snow. A stranger took Layfield and a fellow hiker out to dinner. He says, “There were people like that all along the way. It’s just amazing.”
Put it into practice: As creations of God, we are called to care for the earth and for each other. After you’ve found peace in nature, it’s time to share it. How will you do this? Host a picnic in your neighborhood or teach a young person the benefits of unplugging from technology, perhaps. Consider the endless possibilities and choose one that will bring the light of Christ to those around you. |
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CONFERENCE, DISTRICT AND CIRCUIT NEWS |
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SE District Monthly Prayer List 6 - Washington UM Church 13 - Bloomfield UM Church - Drakesville UM Church 20- Centerville, First UM Church - Moulton UM Church - Seymour UM Church 27 - Fairfield, First UM Church - Eldon UM Church, Batavia UM Church |
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LOOK INWARD TO HEAR GOD'S VOICE |
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Hearing God’s voice may feel elusive for some, but everyone is invited to listen and discern what God is telling them.
Silence takes practice “One of the main benefits of slowing down and listening is that we’re resting from the doing and the talking,” says Crockett. “We rest from letting others feed our soul from that continuous flow of online content that comes at us, or television, or whatever we’re looking at and hearing. It just inserts itself into our being.
“I think of the pace and the stimulus and the level of input into our minds and hearts as a sort of silent trauma that’s inflicted on the soul, that it’s bombarded continually, unless we choose to practice moments of stillness.
“The more that we can practice the disciplines of solitude and silence in the world, I think the more we discover that there is peace and the compassion and grace of God that we can access more easily.”
Tune into your soul's voice and desires “Listening to the inner voice is much more of a posture of ‘come and see,’ or, as Jesus might say, ‘to watch and pray.’ There's a different posture we take with listening to the voice of God,” shares Crockett.
“I often use the prayer from Augustine that says, ‘Grant, Lord, that I may know myself that I may know Thee,’” she says. “If I am the image of God, then yeah, listening to my soul is listening to God. So I don't see a separation necessarily of the inner voice from the voice of God.
“Even in the Psalms, it says that God gives us the desires of our heart. I think it's often interpreted as God giving us whatever we're wishing for, as opposed to God giving you a desire that you're going to hold. This is the desire God has given you, this longing.
“And so paying attention to that desire, then, indeed is listening to God. It's like God praying into us, saying, ‘I want you to be compelled to this. I want you to listen to this, be transformed by this.’ So in that sense, I think, as we listen to our own heart’s desire, it is a form of listening to God, not necessarily the only way, but it certainly leads us there.
“And there is a discernment of, ‘What is God's voice? What are other voices?’ We've got a lot of interference sometimes that we need to work through, but generally I think most people have that sense of, ‘No, this feels like something.’”
We might even respond to an inner pull, doing something because deep down, we simply have to do it.
“I often think of it as something that won't go away,” says Crockett. “It's a longing for something that just stays with you and usually grows if it's God-given.”
Remember your identify as a child of God Knowing that we are beloved children of God, believing it and holding it close roots us in truth. This also ensures we are motivated by God’s voice instead of fear, guilt or shame.
“If I am the will of God, just the fact that I'm living and breathing makes pretty much whatever choice I make to honor God okay,” shares Crockett. “Wherever I go, I am the will of God, and that equates to God delighting in me. Feeling the delight of God is, I think, another key element.
“Another thing that seems maybe more ordinary, but probably more telling, are the words of Parker Palmer: Let your life speak. The things and the stories we're drawn to, the movies we love to watch, these are all clues about how we're wired, how God put us together, and the ways that we can love God and the world through that.
“Your personality, your experiences, your desires, your longings. That is the way God is asking you to follow this path.” |
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MINISTRY REPORTS |
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Springdale UMC Leadership Board meeting—6/24/2025 Attendance: Steven (Chair), Jessica G. (Treasurer), Paula (Secretary), Manda, Rebecca, Julie, Jo, Lynda
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