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Volume 14 I ssue 1

January 2017 The Poster

FT . DES MOINES UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

Dass’ Desk 2

Epiphany 2

You’re Invited 3

5th Sunday Potluck 3

Food Pantry Tidbits 3

Thanks... 4

Volunteer of the... 4

Nut Sale 7

Prayer Corner

7

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Information for The Poster should be in the Church office by the 4th Tuesday of the month prior to being pub-lished.

Office Hours

8:00 a.m. -

12:00 noon

Monday to Friday

Sunday Worship 9:45 a.m.

Holy Communion is generally the first

Sunday of the month

Some of the very first dollars the Founda-

tion received were for scholarships, and near-

ly every year a new one is created. Individu-

als, Churches, and Iowa Annual Conference

campaigns and designated funds have joined

together over the years to make $220,085

available for the 2017-2018 school year.

The Iowa United Methodist Foundation

offers thousands of dollars in scholarships

and grants every year to students who

demonstrate academic and community excel-

lence and have maintained a faithful mem-

bership with the United Methodist Church.

Offered are:

General scholarships to all students of the church

United Methodist Seminary scholarships to students following the

call to join the ministry

Westmar College scholarships for students who will attend or are

attending United Methodist colleges in Iowa

Iowa UM Colleges scholarships for students who will be attending

United Methodist colleges.

Those planning to apply for any of these scholarships must have all

the required materials postmarked by March 1, 2017. Incomplete or

late applications cannot be considered. Mail your packet to Iowa Unit-

ed Methodist Foundation, 2301 Rittenhouse St, Des Moines IA 50321.

A scholarship application is needed for each category. For a com-

plete listing of scholarships available including criteria, applications

and a checklist of required documents please go to:

www.iumf.org/scholarships.

Bible Study Continues!

The Parables of the Kingdom study continues on Wednesday morn-

ings, at 11:00 a.m., in the church library. The 13th chapter of Matthew

contains seven parables, which it says Jesus used as part of a series of

teachings on the Kingdom of God. These seven parables were present-

ed together because they possess an underlying continuity and unity.

Jesus told these parables not merely to inform but to

persuade, to convince, to move his hearers to action.

He told these parables in order to help his audience

come to grips with the practical will of God for their

everyday lives.

2017-2018 Scholarship Information

Dass’ Desk

Volume 14 I ssue 1 Page 2

ahead in the future because of his promise to

be with us. He would protect us from any

harm and danger.

Thirdly, we can face the future with a recom-

mitment to the mission God has for us in

2017. Jesus said, “You are my witnesses.” If

we are committed to being God’s witnesses in

the world, then we do not have to be afraid of

the future, for God will indeed be with us.

Thus we recommit ourselves to being his mis-

sionaries in this world.

Fourthly, the Bible tells us that we can face

the future with hope because of his promise

that He is doing something new in our day

and in our lives that is good. “See, I am doing

a new thing,” says God. He speaks about

streams flowing in the desert; that is, the arid

and unproductive regions in our lives. He is in

the process of giving life-giving water which

will make us fruitful and faithful. God will be

doing something new for us in 2017.

We can enter the New Year with the confi-

dence that God loves and cares for us. We can

share this message with others and reach out

to those who may need to hear the message of

forgiveness and love and eternal life.

I wish you all good health, happiness,

and continuing blessings of God in 2017.

Happy New Year!

Pastor Dass

Welcoming the Future

Once again, we come to the close of a year and

start of another. It is a time when most of us

do take more than a casual note of the fact

that 2016 is about to turn into 2017. It is a

dividing line between what has been and what

may yet be. It is time to review where we have

been and what we have become. It is time to

give thanks to God for all the things He has

done for us. It is time to focus on faith and

prayers already answered. It is time to enter

the New Year with confidence and assurance

of God’s infinite love and care that God has

promised in the Scripture. By faith, we can

face the future and God gives us some

guidance on how to face the future.

First, we can face the future with a confidence

that God claims us as his own. God says,

“Fear not, I have redeemed you, I have called

you by name, you are mine.” If we belong to

God, if we are members of his family, if he

does indeed claims us, then we do not have to

be afraid, and we can face the future with the

confidence that we belong to Him and God has

a purpose for us.

Secondly, we can face the future with God’s

promised presence and protection. “When you

pass through the waters,” He says, “I will be

with you, you will not be swept away by the

flood; if you go through the fires, you will not

be consumed.” In other words, God assures his

children that they can face whatever lies

We are now in the season of Epiphany. Epiphany is a word meaning “manifestation.” The

manifestation refers to the appearance or revelation of God. It is celebrated on Sunday, January

1 as an observance of the Wise men coming to see Jesus. This was the first manifestation of

Jesus to the Gentiles. Other manifestations were baptism of Jesus and the

first miracle Jesus performed at the Wedding of Cana when he turned water

into wine. And of course, all of the miracles of Jesus were manifestations of

his divine power. The season of Epiphany continues until Ash Wednesday

which is the beginning of Lent.

Volume 14 I ssue 1 Page 3

Several New Years

“A new thing.” I like that. I’m much given

to new beginnings, whether a new year, a new

month, a new week or a new day. A Jesuit

priest, C.J. McNaspy, once noted that scholars

do not agree as to when the liturgical (church)

year really begins. The usual opinion, of

course, is the first Sunday of Advent. Others,

however, start with the Easter Vigil. Still oth-

ers choose the Sunday that comes seventy

days before Easter. Father McNaspy wraps up

the controversy happily: “In any case, since

we need to be constantly starting over, it

doesn’t hurt to have several New Years.”

That’s the way I feel, too. I’ll take as many

new years, and as many occasions for new be-

ginnings, as calendar, religion and life will

provide. I’m glad for the chance for starting

again. —J. Ellsworth Kalas

Worship: We witness to the transforming

power of Christ through our regular presence

in worship services. Invite a friend or a neigh-

bor to come with you to worship services. Ho-

ly Communion will be part of the service on

Jan. 8. We will also recognize the Volunteer

of the month on that day.

Wednesday Bible Study: “Parables of the

Kingdom”, continues on Wednesdays, at

11:00 a.m., in the Library. This study is on

the seven parables found in the13th chapter

of Matthew and will continue through the

month of January.

You are invited to attend “Human Traffick-

ing in Iowa” on Wednesday, Jan. 11, at

Aldersgate UMC (3600 7th St, Urbandale).

The same presentation will be presented at

1:15 p.m. and at 6:15 p.m. in Room 130 (lower

level of the building). Park in the SW lot.

Senior and Law Enforcement Together

(SALT) will meet at the Southside Senior

Center on Tuesday, Jan. 17, at 10:30 a.m. to

discuss “Miscellaneous Crime Incidents”.

Members of Des Moines Law Enforcement,

Polk County Sheriff’s office, and the Des

Moines Fire Department will be on hand to

answer your questions.

**November’s usage shatters usage record

with 7,453 families served (18,415 individu-

als)! This is an 13.1% increase over November

of 2015.

**DMARC awarded $30,000 from Ignite

Challenge for their Food Pantry 2.0 concept!

**#Giving Tuesday 2016 saw 30 donations

totaling $2,700 which will provide 180 holiday

meal baskets to feeding programs at Casady

Alternative Center and Scavo Alternative

High School.

**#NoHungerCentralIowa Concert Food

Drive held on Dec. 4, in conjunction with the

Christmas with Amy Grant and Michael W.

Smith concert at Wells Fargo Event Center

and Life 107.1 brought in 1,302 food items

and $301.80.

**DMARC has been selected as a $15,000

grant recipient from Wells Fargo. This will

provide over 25,000 healthy food items includ-

ing fresh produce, frozen meats, dairy prod-

ucts, and low-sodium, low-sugar and low-fat

items that will be distributed throughout the

Food Pantry Network.

**Meredith Foundation awarded DMARC

with a $2,500 grant for healthy food.

**The Food Pantry Network is looking at a

new system where clients would be given a

card similar to an EBT card which would al-

low them to “shop” at any site throughout the

metro area. Watch for more information

about this program throughout 2017.

**Donations large and small are needed to

feed the Metro-area hungry. Food Pantry Sun-

day will be Jan. 15. Shelf-stable food items,

formula, diapers, personal hygiene items,

cash, and brown paper grocery sacks will be

received.

In January there are five Sundays and on

the 5th Sunday, January 29, we will have a

potluck luncheon. Please

bring your favorite dish to

share with your church

family. Beverages will be

furnished.

5th Sunday Potluck

Food Pantry Tidbits

Volume 14 I ssue 1 Page 4

Volunteer of the Month

Our church is blessed

with innumerable volun-

teers who help with various

ministries of the church and

special projects. This month

Pastor Dass has selected

Larry Hart as the volunteer of the month.

Larry has been very helpful in many fixing

and repairing projects at the church and the

parsonage. Larry comes to church early on

Sunday mornings to make sure that every-

thing is functioning properly—heating, light-

ing, etc. Recently Larry has been painting the

Sunday school room that will be utilized as a

store room. Larry checks on light bulbs and

replaces them as needed, especially those

highlighting our stained glass windows. Larry

serves on the Board of Trustees.

Thanks to Everyone Who Helped!

Let’s give a shout out to Cin-

dy & Sandi Eatwell for caring for

the flower garden around the

angel statue and to Cheryl

Smith and Debi Hamm for car-

ing for the south flower bed. Their commit-

ment to this task goes from year to year. Be

sure to thank them when you see them!

Ever wonder who puts the

information on our monu-

ment sign along SW 9th St?

Through wind, rain and sun,

Larry Hart changes the

south side as needed and

sees to the wording on the north side when a

change is needed.

Have you seen the photos of the

Unusual Hat Contest? Thanks

to Carlin Peer for taking the

photos and putting together the

display poster. And now the

ones from the Caroling party are

up too! See if you can find anyone you know.

Many hands made lite work of dec-

orating for the Christmas season.

Those same hands and others took

down the decorations and put

them away. Thanks to all who had

a hand in these two tasks.

Special thanks to the

youth of the Bhutanese

Nepali Truth Church for

providing special music

and liturgical dance for

our worship service on

Dec. 11.

Pastor Dass thanks the congre-

gation for the love-gift received

on Christmas. I greatly appreci-

ate your generosity. Thanks.

Don’t Stay Away From Church

Because you are poor - There is no admis-

sion charge

Because you are rich - The Church can

use generous contributions

Because it rains - You go to work and

play in the rain.

Because the weather is cold - The Church

is warm and friendly.

Because it is too hot - So is the golf course

and the picnic area.

Because there are hypocrites in it - They

need the church as much as you do.

Because no one invited you - You go many

places without a special invitation.

Because you have company - They will

admire your loyalty if you bring them along.

Because you need a little weekend vacation

occasionally - There is a church there.

Because its standards are too high - How

the world needs such.

Because it bores you - Rather ask yourself

if you bore God.

Because you get nothing out of it - What

do you give it?

Because you don’t like the preacher or

some of the people - Ask God to make you

more friendly.

6205 SW 9th St Des Moines IA 50315-5516

Ft. Des Moines United Methodist Church

Events:

Jan. 2: Office Closed

Jan. 29: 5th Sunday Potluck

dinner following worship

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.” Ephesians 3:16

January/February 2017

Phone: 515.285.6545 Fax: 515.285.3740

E-mail: emmanueldass@hotmail.com ftdsmumc@qwestoffice.net

www.fdmumc.org

The Fort Des Moines United Methodist Church:

a community of faith in worship and action,

open to all in the Spirit and Love of God.

Christian Education Classes will continue until May 21, 2017

11:00-11:45 a.m.

Staff

Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Dass Pastor

Laurie Jenkins, Church Musician

Pamela Schisel Choir Director

Jane White, Administrative Assistant

Chris Wulf Custodian

Address Service Requested

We give thanks for:

YOU!

Special Offerings:

Food Pantry Sunday will be

Jan. 15. Donations of cash, shelf-

stable food items, formula, dia-

pers and brown paper grocery

bags will be received.

Human Relations Sunday will

be Jan. 15. Funds collected from

this special offering support the

Community Developers Program

and Community Advocacy

through United Methodist Volun-

tary Services, related to the Gen-

eral Board of Global Ministries,

and at-risk teens through the

Youth Offender Rehabilitation

program, General Board of

Church and Society.