Dear Friends,

As we look ahead to the summer here are some wonderful opportunities and events:

Sunday June 8th: Celebration of Claire and Mark's 40th Wedding Anniversary at a special Coffee Hour after Worship.

Friday June 13th: Forklifters at the home of Beth W. Come and see Beth's newly remodeled kitchen.

June 21st: Expected due date of Judith's first grandson.

Sunday June 29th: Celebration of Fred G's 90th birthday at Coffee Hour.

Lavender Sales: by Julie B and Mary B. The proceeds of the sales this year will go towards paying for children to attend Family Camp on the weekend of September 19th without cost. Judith and Mary B did a fund raiser for clergy in May that raised funds toward this end and on August 10th there will be a special Ice Cream Social Fund raiser.. If adults wish to pay towards family camp in installments, call the church office or Leaf for information. Church Administrator Louise is the registrar and will keep a record of the funds paid and who plans to attend.

Sunday Evenings in July and Early August: Rev. Judith Stone and Rev. Rod McAulay will teach the class "Saving Jesus". Ever feel like Jesus has been kidnapped by the Christian Right or the Secular Left? Saving Jesus is a DVD-based small group exploration of Jesus Christ featuring leading religious voices of our day, the program includes a printable participant reader and discussion questions. The basic format for each weekly one and a half hour session includes conversation around the readings, a 20-minute video segment and guided discussion. Join Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, Matthew Fox, Amy-Jill Levine, James Forbes and a host of others for a conversation around the relevance of Jesus Christ for today.

Judith and Rod have been talking since early spring about teaching together again. This was Rev. Rod's earliest time slot. There are current conversations about the United Methodist Church and the Episcopal Church entering into full communion. As a part of this series the discussion group will also talk about what that might mean.

All Sundays in July and early August: Godly Play, Youth and Preschool Sunday School will be consolidated. Children will watch Veggie Tales Christian videos, on themes of self-esteem, forgiveness and compassion.

Sunday July 13th: Come to a special lunch put on by the Mission Team to raise money for the Black Colleges and Africa University apportionments.

The Mission Team and the Board of Trustees have entered into discussions surrounding the purchase of a DVD projection camera and portable screen. With this purchase, the Mission Team hopes to host a screening of The Great Debate , about a United Methodist Black College, and have an informational program on Darfur.

Sunday July 27th: Special Sunday Worship on the church World Service Apportionment. We will learn about the Covenant Missionary Relationship we have entered into with Katherine Parker, a United Methodist Missionary in Cambodia, doing Agricultural Development. Katherine spoke recently to our congregation. The World Service Apportionment helps pay her salary, and as we enter into covenant relationship with her she becomes an adjunct part of our staff. A number of church people have subscribed to her blog. Then, on Sunday, August 2nd we will hold a rummage sale fund raiser for the World Service Apportionment.

Sounds like a full summer to me. Thanks for all you do.