Heritage United Methodist Church 1604 East Pointer Trail

Van Buren, AR 72956-2326

Periodical

Postage Paid

at Van Buren,

Arkansas 72956

Permit 24448

Mission Statement:

To Love and to Lead

The Mission of Heritage United Methodist Church

is to Love God and people passionately and to Lead

people into a passionate relationship with Jesus Christ.

In Hospital:

Paul Nash (HealthSouth)

Jodie and Emily Ammons (Willow Creek)

At Home:

Martha Coles, Fae Dyer, James Minor,

Dorinda Stewart, Bill Thomas, Anna Utz,

Connie Warren

Assisted Living:

Shirley Bromley (Methodist)

Steve Burns (Fianna Hills NH)

Mary Coble (Crawford H&R)

Mary Dempsey (Valley Springs)

Lavita Middleton (Sebastian County Retirement Center)

Doris Ricks (Brownwood Manor)

Warren Taylor (Methodist)

Therese Zolk (Valley Springs H&R)

In Sympathy:

Family and Friend of the Dibble’s in the

death of their beloved, Gerlinde Dibble.

LaToya Shepherd and Family in the death of

her father, Rev. Timothy P. Yancey, Sr.

Becki Kneeland, Rhonda Pittman and

Family in the death of their uncle, Myrl Jones.

JANUARY VOLUNTEERS

Ushers

8:05 am Jerry Frederiksen Kevin Fontaine

Drew Cone Bruce Brown Eddie Prince

9:30 am Wayne Stewart

Mark Evans Joe Stewart

Scott Weege

11:00 am Russ Aikman Erich Bauman Ryan Breeze Cindi Breeze

Acolytes 1/7 - Hayden Fontaine

Devin Franklin

1/14 - Annabelle Lovett Maggie Adair

1/21 - Matthew Carter Judah Martin

1/28 - Jaylin Woodard Madelyn Elliott

Heritage Happenings is published weekly Office Hours: Mon - Thurs: 8 am - 5 pm; Fri: 8 am - 12 pm

Phone: 479-474-6424

FAX & E-mail Address: 474-8549; office@heritage.church

Church Web Page: www.heritage.church

Arkansas Area Bishop: Rev. Gary Mueller

District Superintendent: Rev. Steve Coburn

Lead Pastor: J. Wesley Hilliard, whilliard@heritage.church

Pastor Emeritus Bill Kelton, bekelton@sbcglobal.net

Director of Ministries: Roger Goins, rgoins@heritage.church

Worship Arts Minister Caleb Lester, clester@heritage.church

Welcome Minister: Becki Kneeland, bkneeland@heritage.church

Congregational Care Pastor: Max Goins, mgoins@heritage.church

Outreach Pastor LaToya Shepherd, lshepherd@heritage.church

Ministry Development Pastor: Ron Lewis, rlewis@heritage.church

Accompanist: Rick Endel, rendel@heritage.church

Youth and Family Pastor: Brian Seewald, bseewald@heritage.church

Associate Youth Minister: Brad Martin, bmartin@heritage.church

Middle School Pastor: Brad Sneed, bsneed@heritage.church

Children’s Minister: Shea Marsh, smarsh@heritage.church

Business Administrator Bobby Boyakin, bboyakin@heritage.church

Publications Secretary: Kathy Goins, kgoins@heritage.church

Staff Secretary: Pam James, pjames@heritage.church

Facility Manager: Steve Kelton, skelton@heritage.church

Newsletter/Bulletin Announcements: office@heritage.church

January 20

IF: TABLE

February 11-15

SPECIAL GUEST,

WESLEY PUTNAM

March 2-3

LAUGH YOUR WAY

TO A BETTER MARRIAGE

CONFERENCE

Heritage Happenings (USPS Periodical Permit 24448) is published weekly (except Christmas) by Heritage United Methodist Church, 1604 Pointer Trail, Van Buren AR 72956-2326. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Heritage United Methodist Church, 1604 Pointer Trail, Van Buren, AR 72956-2326 PH 479-474-6424

Volume 32 Issue 3 January 18, 2018

KEEP DOING WHAT YOU’VE ALWAYS DONE And you will keep getting what you’ve always got. Dr. Jessamine Gist, my high school English teacher, would really

dislike that sentence. She would probably point it out to the entire class and even give classmates bonus points for

interrupting me to announce that I had made a grave mistake. However, she would agree with it 100%. If we

wanted to pass her class—and graduate, we had to change the way we talked, the way we wrote, and even the way

we thought. Dr. Gist was resisted by students, attacked by parents, and even

pushed by administration. She held her ground and we all improved. Without

change, there can be no improvement. Think about it; you cannot make even

the slightest improvement to anything without changing something.

Jeremiah knew this too! He knew that the Lord had a plan for him that

required change. He knew that the Lord had a plan for Israel that required

change—serious change. Jeremiah was attacked by kings. He was betrayed by

friends and family. He was even attacked by priests (how many of us can say

that?)! Jeremiah made changes in his life. Israel refused and was destroyed by

Babylon in 586 B.C.

What improvements would you like to make in your life? What change is required to make that improvement a

reality? Are you willing to make the change? If you want to lose weight, change how you eat and exercise. If you

want to save money, change how you spend. If you want to

grow closer to the Lord, change! The Lord has greater

plans for you even than you have for yourself. Make the

change! Let’s stop doing what we have always done! It is

time to get something different!

See you Sunday!

Roger

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,

“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give

you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

The word of the Lord came to me,

saying, “Before I formed you in

the womb I knew you, before you

were born I set you apart; I

appointed you as a prophet to the

nations.” “Alas, Sovereign Lord,”

I said, “I do not know how to

speak; I am too

young.” Jeremiah 1:4-6 NIV

MEMORIALS In memory of BARBARA GREEN (mother of Becki Kneeland and Rhonda

Pittman) by:

Jean Sabatier (WM)

Sue Stranathan (BF)

Heath and Leslie Wagner (WAM)

In memory of GERLINDE DIBBLE

by:

Bruce and Janet Johnson (BF)

Sue Stranathan (BF)

The German Club (BF)

In memory of REV. TIMOTHY

YANCEY (father of LaToya Shepherd) by:

Sue Stranathan (BF) Bruce and Janet Johnson (BF)

In memory of MYRL JONES (uncle of

Becki Kneeland and Rhonda Pittman) by:

Bruce and Janet Johnson (BF)

In memory of DAN TURSKY (father

of Mike Tursky) by:

Jean May and Don Ryan (BF) WAM - Worship Arts Ministry

WM - Welcome Ministry BF - Building Fund

IMPORTANT REMINDER

Wednesday activities resume this

week! Dinner begins at 4:30 pm

followed by Bible study for all ages

at 5:45 pm (Adults and Youth meet in

the Block). Adult books ($5) will be

available for purchase. *Suggested

donation for dinner: family $10 maximum,

adults $4, seniors $3, children $2.

NEW CLASSES It’s not too late to join GriefShare

on Sundays from 3-5 pm and

DivorceCare on Sundays from 5:30-

7:30 pm. Pastor LaToya Shepherd

will facilitate both of these classes.

LADIES: JOIN US What is IF: Table? It is a place to gather women and share a

simple meal and dive deep with people over real stories and

Christ centered conversations. A time for a whole lot of

laughter – and maybe a few tears – but time spent that leaves

us with glad hearts. Full hearts. Grateful hearts.

So join us this Saturday, January 20th in the fellowship hall from 9:00 -11:00

for a brunch and to find out more about what IF: is, fellowship with other

women and engage in Christ-centered conversation. Bring your friends or

start new relationships!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Invite your friends and Join us for a

time of praise and worship with

The Master’s Storyteller, Wesley

Putnam. He will present a unique

blend of story and song for all ages

every night February 11-14th. 5 pm

Dinner, 6 pm Bible Quest and 7 pm

Worship & Drama.

RUBIES NEXT STUDY In today's busy world, we're wired to appear "fine," warding off authenticity

and shielding ourselves from judgment but we yearn for authentic

relationships. Written for women, We Saved You A Seat is a 7-week study

on friendship that unpacks seven practical ways to take Jesus up on His

invitation to love other people by being the friend who makes the first

move. Join the Rubies Women’s Monday morning Bible study. Meet in the

welcome center from 9-11 beginning January 22nd.

PBJ'S - PLANNERS,

BIBLE JOURNALING AND

SISTERHOOD On Saturday, January 27th at

10:00am-11:30am, we will begin a

new group for ladies who love to

use planners, do Bible Journaling,

and want to learn script writing!

Our first meeting will have brunch

items, a short devotional, then

we'll show different methods to use

various planners, and share samples

of planners and Bible journals. The

goal of this group is to allow ladies to take a short break every two

weeks to enjoy fellowship and share

ways of scheduling, planning and

ways to increase your Bible reading/

journaling. The group is open to all

ladies in the River Valley Area and

will be led by Leanna Garrett. If

you have a planner or Bible/spiritual

journal, bring it with you to the first

meeting. If you don't have either

and are interested in starting, please

join us! Please RVSP to Pam James

in the Heritage office (so we know

how to plan!) See you there - Bring

a friend!

THANK YOU Thank you for your kindness in

preparing the meal for our family.

We are so appreciative of your

generosity. Your support at this

difficult time was very much

appreciated and a great comfort to

our family. Thank you, again.

Larry and Pamela Hendrickson

Family of David Hendrickson

NEW HERITAGE UNIVERSITY CLASS Apologetics for Everyone begins this Sunday, January 21st at 9:30 am in room

133.

Should Christians apologize for their faith? Yes! That means providing good

arguments for our beliefs as well as responding to the tough questions

others raise about our faith.

Are you prepared for the challenges?

Can you defend God’s existence?

Do you know why the Bible is true?

Can you offer a reason for why God allows horrific acts of evil?

This video-based course will investigate wide-ranging topics, including

Creation, Exodus, Jesus and reasons to believe.

WELCOME Alex Gould

and

Latisha Wise

WORKSHOP Join us as we explore the Whys and

Hows to an empowered daily time

with the Lord. The New Journey

workshop is this Sunday, January 21st

@ 10:45 am upstairs in the Student

Life Center.

YOUNG AT HEART If you are 55 or older, please join us

for a time of food and fellowship

Thursday, January 25th from 6-8 pm

in the Welcome Center. Bring a

dish to share!

RESTLESS BIBLE STUDY Women of all ages who are seeking

a deeper relationship with God and

other women, join us on Thursdays

from 6-8 pm in room 121 beginning

January 25th. We will study Beth

Moore’s, Esther.

UPDATE ON THE SEASON OF CHANGE…

The first article I had to write for the newsletter was actually written by

our daughter Jennifer. She wrote it as if she was me writing it. (Yes, I

confessed to Roger that I didn’t write it myself.) The second article I

wrote I did write myself. Here it is my turn to write again. (It’s not that I

don’t like to write – I just figured no one wanted to read about anything I

had to say.) So I enlisted the help of Jennifer again – classes were canceled

at her college today due to snow so why not help Mom out. I asked about

her writing an update…

Our God is an awesome God! Jennifer’s first semester of college was a

tough one, like it seems to be for many who are making this big transition.

She knew that college wasn’t going to be the easiest, and she found that to be true. She exceeded in all of her

classes, she worked her hardest and her work reflected that. She found that her campus has a Christian sorority and she was able to join. She now has found sisters to grow in Christ with while she is away from her home church. Her

sorority meets every Sunday night and she has a weekly Bible study with a smaller group of her sisters. The church

that houses her sorority even has set up each family in Gamma Alpha Lambda with a family in the church and she

eats dinner with them regularly. She has had a tough time being away from home, but I know God has placed her on

this campus for a reason. I just can’t wait to see where her journey takes her, I know God is going to bless her in

this journey and keep her safe.

Our son, Colt, was offered another job with a company he has worked for for years during fireworks seasons, and

he now works in the home office of Jake’s Fireworks in Pittsburg and loves his job. And Victoria, our daughter-in-

law, has started a brand new year at a new school teaching high school English and she is loving her job and she has

so many new opportunities in her field. God is awesome and He sure does answer your prayers, He’s keeping our

babies safe every day!

I would like to add a few thoughts. So many people asked us several questions, when they heard our kids were

moving away, such as aren’t you sad? We got a few strange looks when we answered but we truly believe in our

answer. We are excited to see what is going to happen next. We’ve raised our kids to go forth and live the best life

they can. We did our “job” and now it’s time to watch them fly.

Also, Jennifer has grown so much in the Lord. That may not have happened so quickly if she had stayed here for

school. She sends me texts of what her daily devotion says when it applies to her – she knows He is with her and

sending her reminders that He hears her prayers. Colt and Victoria have adopted a puppy named Dixie, our grand

dog. Who at six months is already bigger than our 4-year-old blue healer. There are lessons to be learned in raising

another life. They also have grown in the Lord. They do read daily devotions together and I believe they pray even

more. They have decided to buy a house which is a huge step for parents to watch their kids take. All this to say…

it’s a time of celebration to watch your kids growing and making adult decisions. When they’re little you wonder if

they are listening to your words of wisdom – that you’re sure they should be taking notes

because you are teaching good stuff – then they run thru the mud in their new shoes! During this

season Kip and I get to watch the fruits of our labor and it’s exciting! Keep praying for your kids

God is listening! By the way – we have the best kids in the world - awesome blessings!!!

Pam James, Staff Secretary