Commack United Methodist Church

486 Townline Road Commack, NY 11725-7310 (631) 499-7310 Web Site: http://www.commack-umc.org Email: [email protected] Pastor’s E-Mail: [email protected] Rev. Richard C. Mills, Pastor (631) 499-4770 October 2005

Open Hearts

Open Minds

Open Doors

these three questions 1. Is this rut of my own making? We tend to choose a rut because it’s comfortable and requires no risk. To get out of a rut, make new choices! 2. Who am I following? We adopt certain patterns in our lives because someone has taught them to us directly or by example. Make sure that you are following good leaders, don’t simply follow the crowd. 3. Where am I going? Ruts develop when we lose a sense of vision for our lives, when we are “just traveling” through life and not attempting to arrive at a destination. Goals take you somewhere.

Dear Brother or Sister in Christ, The story is told of a biologist who once experimented with what he called “processional caterpillars.” He lined up caterpillars on a rim of a flowerpot so that the first caterpillar was head to tail with the last caterpillar with no break in the lineup. The caterpillars walked around the rim of the pot for a full week before they died of exhaustion or starvation. Not once did any caterpillar get out of line and venture over to the flower that was in the pot only inches away to eat. The follow the leader instinct was greater than the drive to eat and survive.

Remember, a person who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his or her back on the crowd. I think that the Apostle Paul says it well: Therefore come out from them, and be separate from them, says the Lord. 2 Corinthians 6:17 (NRSV)

Sometimes when we think that we are in the grove we are really in a rut and when in a rut it is good to ask ourselves

See you in church, Rev. Dick

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UNITED METHODIST WOMEN On Wednesday, October 12, a mission study on India & Pakistan will be presented by Ginny Eichenauer. Our hostess for the evening is Matilda Gollatz. We meet at 7:30 pm in the parlor and all the ladies in the church, and their friends, are invited to attend. If transportation is needed, please contact Ann Aupperle at 499-0192.

Confirmation 2006 October 9 7:30 p.m. / parlor All seventh graders and older who wish to participate in Confirmation 2006 are invited to attend an Orientation Session on October 9th from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in our parlor. Parents/guardians are welcome to attend this first session. Confirmation 2006 is an opportunity for our youth to explore Christian discipleship through Bible study, fellowship, worship and service within small group experiences. You will be joining Pastor Dick and our mentoring leaders to share in this year’s plans for adventure. Please contact the church office at 499-7310 or [email protected] for registration.

DATES TO REMEMBER… Saturday, October 8: LI East UMW fall meeting and elections at Port Washington UMC. Guest speaker: Rebecca Mebert from The Children’s Home. Saturday, October 22: NY Conference UMW Annual Meeting at Memorial/Central UMC, 20 Bryant Ave., White Plains. A MISSION MOMENT… As shepherds seek out their flock when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. Ezekial 34:12

ST. PATRICK’S DAY DINNER… March is months away, but now is the time to think about the St. Patrick’s Day Dinner. There isn’t a church committee to sponsor this happening. Sooo, if you are interested in having the dinner again, March 2006, would you please contact the church office at 499-7310 to show your support of this event. It is very important to have a firm commitment as soon as possible to determine if it will be feasible. Include in your phone call whether you will be able to help in the pre-dinner preparation or the clean-up. Help is most important in the following areas: peeling vegetables, setting tables, ticket selling, decorating, serving food from the kitchen, waiting tables, kitchen clean-up, table clean-up. Thanks for your support.

Our PRAYER FOCUS is on the people affected by Hurricane Katrina, their first responders, police, fire, military and utility support personnel, as well as all the nation’s volunteers who have given so much through their assistance, shelter and monetary donations. As of this writing, I hope there is no more devastation visited upon our shores by the fall hurricanes. Kathy Muller

Patty and Gery Spory

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also contributed to the Sunday School’s collection of school supplies to UMCOR for distribution to the hurricane ravished areas. Remember that UMCOR is also accepting monetary donations to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Our peanut butter gang met on September 3 and an overwhelming 30 people showed up in response to our plea for help. We thank R.J. for bringing his youth group and also some returning girl scouts and of course, our CUMC members; they made 750 sandwiches that morning. Somehow the Lord always helps us do what needs to be done. Our sandwiches are distributed to the Mary Brennan Inn in Hempstead, First Methodist church in Roosevelt, Operation Homeless, pronto of LI, Lighthouse Mission in Patchogue, The INN in Wyandanch and Christ Episcopal Church in Central Islip and other soup kitchens.

Even though we are just entering the fall season, Thanksgiving and Christmas are already on our minds. Especially in our thoughts are our military men and women serving in Iraq and the lonely holidays they will be spending far from home and family. Since it takes weeks for some of our packages to reach them, we’d like to start collecting items for holiday packages now. Some suggestions are: magazines, paperback books, shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream, razors, eye drops, lip balm, hand and face wipes, deodorant, hair bands, sun screen, candies, mints, small games, skin cream, socks, foot powder, crossword puzzle books, instant drink mixes, pop tarts, Pringles potato chips, trail mix, mouthwash, breakfast bars, stationary, pens, international phone cards. We want to be sure our troops know that we appreciate the sacrifices they are making for us. Please give us the names of any military personnel you would like us to remember. “And God is able to give you more than you need, so that you will always have more than you need for yourselves and more than enough for every good cause”. 2 Corinthians 9:8

Hopefully, by the time you read this, we will have held our special service to commemorate four years of our PB&J ministry and many of you will have heard Joe Dugan’s inspiring message. Please help us continue this wonderful ministry; keep those peanut butter donations coming and join us at 8:30AM on the first Saturday of the month to help make sandwiches that could be the only meal someone has that day. Thank you again for your continuous donations to our food box. It is hard for us to comprehend the difference a small donation can make to someone in need. We never know when someone will have a need, but how wonderful when we meet that need before we even know of it.

Please contact any committee member as you become aware of a need within the church or the community and we will do whatever we can with confidentiality completely assured. Our prayers and thanks go to all of you.

As usual, our annual school supply drive was a big success. We personally delivered supplies to about 25 children as well as to the food pantry, soup kitchen and to a first grade class of at risk children. Hopefully, your generosity will give these children the tools they need to break the poverty cycle that holds their parents down. We

Anne Tammaro Missions Chairperson

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FROM THE CHURCH OFFICE…

newsletter.

The next church workday will be held on Saturday, October 15th. Following is a partial list of jobs that need to be completed: - trim trees and bushes around property - weeding around trees and plants - sweeping of the parking lot - cleaning of the garage - cleaning of the kitchen and church - applying stain to the pews - installing a dispenser in the ladies bathroom - checking of exterior lights - repair of gutter over handicap ramp on south side of church

BLOOD DRIVE SCHEDULED… There will be a blood drive conducted by the LICC at First Presbyterian Church in Smithtown (Jericho Tpke. And Rt. 25A) on Tuesday, October 11, 2005. Anyone between the ages of 17 and 75 (16 with parents written permission) and in good health is eligible to donate. Blood products are needed on a daily basis for surgeries, chemotherapy, trauma and many more life saving situations. The only way to obtain blood products is through your donations. Each unit of blood can be used for several different purposes, thereby helping many people. Please join us on October 11 and be someone’s link to a better, healthier life. Give the gift of life…donate blood! For more information or any questions, see Barbara Mazzola or Elaine White.

For lunch, Mel Walker will be making the famous Stone Soup and is in need of a few helpers and some ingredients: frozen veggies, dinner rolls, potatoes, fresh veggies, etc. Please call Mel if you have any questions.

“Throw A Brick”… A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed in the Jag’s side door. He slammed on the brakes and backed the car back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, “What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That’s a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?”

As of 9/16/05, work will be starting on Monday to re-hab the heating system in the R.E. Building. The job should be completed by the time you receive this messenger! Yay! This years charge conference will be held on November 6 at 1:00 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. All committees need to have their reports in by 10/19/05 to allow enough time to type and print the booklet. If you know of anyone interested in advertising in our monthly messenger, please ask him/her to contact the office for the cost. The ad will appear on the church website at www.commackumc.org. This money helps offset the cost of printing and mailing the 4

The young boy was apologetic. “Please, mister… please, I’m sorry but I didn’t know what else to do,” he pleaded. “I threw the brick because no one else would stop…” With tears dripping down his face, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. “It’s my brother,” he said, “He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up.” Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned man, “Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.”

Submitted by Ginny Eichenauer THANK YOU…

Moved beyond words, the driver swallowed the lump in his throat. He then lifted the handicapped boy back into is chair, took out his linen handkerchief, and dabbed at the fresh cuts and scrapes. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.

It was a joy to have R.J. preach to the congregation on August 28th while Pastor Mills was on vacation. We also had the pleasure of hearing Bob Grimm preach on August 21st. He joined us at our Backyard Breakfast held at the Manjares’ house. Thanks to both of you!!

“Thank you and may God bless you,” the child said as he began to push his brother down the sidewalk towards their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never repaired the dented side door. He kept that dent to remind him of this message: Don’t go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention! God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don’t listen, He has to throw a brick at us! It’s our choice to listen or not.

The Methodist Response to Katrina: The following e-mail was sent to Kathy Muller, from Heather Jarvis.

It’s almost time for us to again give the Lord the opportunity to “whisper to our souls and speak to our heart”.

Sun, Sep 4 – “I’ve always taken pride in being able to be self-sufficient. I never dreamed I’d be like this – having lost everything. I don’t know what to do,” said one of the first evacuees as she sat down with me for a health screening. As tears fell, she

This year, I invite you to be brave…”throw a brick” at a friend or neighbor. Invite them to join us!

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of people worked in synchrony for a higher good. Donations continued to flow in all day. Stephen ministers appeared. Strong people materialized to help with unloading boxes, and much more…

responded to the assurance that it was okay to accept the help that was coming in from caring people all over Atlanta. She seemed surprised to hear that she and her family would not be facing the major changes and adjustments alone as she went through the coming weeks. There would be help. There would be a lot of help. She was overwhelmed with the outpouring of kindness.

I always knew you could count on Methodists to feed the hungry and care for those in need, but today I saw it on a large scale. It just seemed to be the natural thing to do.

I thought that fellow Methodists would like to hear firsthand of how Methodists from all over the county came together to help almost fifty evacuees today at Chamblee UMC with the help of donations from Tucker UMC and others. Through UMCOR, the international Methodist relief organization, I learned of the need for nurses to help with processing evacuees from New Orleans as they began to come to Atlanta. The effort was coordinated overnight and set up in the Chamblee church gym with food and drink; clothes sorted and sized; blankets and pillows; and toys and stuffed animals for fearful children.

- Betsy Akins, R.N.

After many delays, finally they came streaming in, having only the clothes they were wearing for the most part. Most had left their medications, blood glucose monitors, and other important items behind. Many complained of stress-related symptoms and nightmares. Some were distraught because they were separated from loved ones, as they had last seen them when they helped them into boats and watched them float away. All of them needed a warm hug and someone to listen to their stories. Many were being placed with host families indefinitely. The volunteer effort was remarkably smooth and flexible. There was a special energy in that church gym, ignited by compassion, where all kinds

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Open Hearts Open Minds Open Doors - Commack United Methodist ...

Oct 19, 2005 - The story is told of a biologist who once experimented with what he called. “processional caterpillars.” He lined up caterpillars on a rim of a flowerpot so that the first caterpillar was head to tail with the last caterpillar with no break in the lineup. The caterpillars walked around the rim of the pot for a full week.

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