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United Methodist Church

Simpson M

esse

nge

r Words from our Pastor

As a general rule, we mostly agree that things

worth doing are worth preparing for. If we

didn't believe that, we wouldn't go through

training and schooling for careers, dating and

counseling and preparation for marriage, and

we wouldn't put together cribs and changing

tables before our children are born. We would

have no need for driver's ed (or the test the

BMV gives you afterwards). You wouldn't

need licenses or credentials to do much of any-

thing. And the world as we know it would

probably fall apart.

And Lent is the season of preparation for East-

er. There are plenty of flavors of church that

don't observe Lent at all, certainly. And if

Easter is just a day, what's to prepare for? If

it's just a day when you get up and put on fan-

cy clothes, and marginally more people than

usual show up to church, I guess there's not

much point to Lent. But what if Easter isn't

just another Sunday? What if Easter changes

everything?

I can understand why Lent isn't always terribly

popular. It starts off with Ash Wednesday,

and Ash Wednesday is the one day the church

sets aside when we are asked to remember that

we are sinners, and that we are unworthy of

the grace that has been so freely and unreserv-

edly poured into our lives. And you can see

why that's an important thing to say once in a

while, officially. And you can probably also

understand why it's nobody's favorite thing to

say, even just once in a while. Ash Wednes-

day is never a particularly well-attended ser-

vice, truth be told. And I can understand that:

shame isn't a feeling any of us are particularly

anxious to wallow in. But listen: Lent isn't

forty Ash Wednesdays in a row.

And of course Lent ends in Holy Week, the

most famous part of which is Good Friday,

when Jesus is murdered by popular de-

mand. And there's probably no honest way

to stand in the shadow of Good Friday and

not feel some guilt for all the times we sid-

ed with the shouting of the crowd instead

of what we knew was true and pointed to

Jesus, or all the times we (who swore we

would never betray him) ran away from

what he was telling us to do because it felt

awkward or uncomfortable not to. And

Good Friday can sting a little. Unless

you're one of those weird medieval monks

that would whip themselves bloody for

every imagined slight, odds are pretty good

you don't enjoy feeling guilty. But Lent

isn't forty Good Fridays stacked end to end,

either.

Lent is supposed to be about reconnecting

to God, when you go out into the wilder-

ness (symbolically, he added hastily –

please don't tell anyone I told you that you

should go live in the woods for a month!),

stripping away as many distractions as you

can, to prepare us to make a more honest

covenant with the Almighty, so that when

you get to the point of the story where you

remember the impossible grace of the res-

urrection – that Jesus beat death and came

back for you – you will be better equipped

to recognize the enormity of that grace, and

of the love that makes it true. Easter

should be big enough to change everything,

and especially everything in us, but to do

that, it will need us to make some prepara-

tion for it. I'm not saying it's impossible for

Easter to work it's power in our lives

Feb/Mar 2020

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Simpson Church Messenger

without it, but then it's also not impossible that

somebody is either an incredible savant or just really

lucky, and they could do a successful surgery on you

with no training or credentials. If it's me they're op-

erating on, I'd just as soon they took the time to get

certified, thanks.

Listen, I'm not the boss of any of you. If you want

to go on doing that kind of vaguely churchy thing

where you give up ice cream or red meat for forty

days or whatever, who am I to tell you that you're

doing it wrong? But I'm not sure that's accomplish-

ing what we're aiming for (unless the 'Double-Stuf'

Oreos really were what was holding us back from

Jesus). But it might be more helpful to try to find

some way to use Lent more as it was intended. That

may be joining a Lenten study, or attending some

other Lenten programming. It might be making time

in your life for God where you didn't before, like

setting aside time for a devotional or for prayer, or if

something has been distracting you away from

church, just committing to put that thing aside for

these six weeks and give God back your Sunday

mornings. It might be committing to service in

some new way, to volunteer or join some ministry

for a time. You know your own walk with God a lot

better than I do. And if you're anything like I am,

you probably have a pretty good idea what direction

he's been nudging you in that you've been trying

hard to ignore for a while.

I know I'm a pastor, so of course I'm going to say

this, but I think Easter is important. I think it still

matters. I think it can still change everything. But

like anything else worth doing, we need to prepare

for it. Lent is that time, and that time is now. I pray

that this will be for you a holy time, a set-apart time,

when you are able to prepare your heart and soul for

the grace of the resurrection, and the love that makes

it true.

Yours, In Christ,

Pastor Ben

WHAT ARE UMW CIRCLES ALL ABOUT?

Mary Ruth Circle meets on the 3rd Tuesday each

month at 10:00 AM. Their programs are usually an

outside speaker from a non-profit agency, a short

business meeting and dessert. Laura Martha Circle

meets on the 3rd Tuesday each month at 6:00 PM

with a program about local and/or world mission, a

short business meeting and dessert. We’d love to

have you join either or both as we seek to know

God, experience freedom throught Jesus Christ and

develop a creative, supportive fellowship while sup-

porting children, youth and women around

the world.

UMW UPCOMING EVENTS

Legislative & Advocacy Day

Thursday, March 5th

North UMC, Indianapolis, IN

(see flyer for details)

Pancake Breakfast by the UMW

Entertainment by Simpson youth

Date TBD

Visit to Lucille Raines Residence

Indianapolis, IN

Watch for details

SW District Spring Meeting

April 18th at 9:00AM

Boonville Main UMC


All records have been moved to the old second floor

classroom at the northeast corner of the building and

spread out on the tables by year. I have been working

with others where possible to determine what records

need to be retained, for how long, and what can be dis-

posed of. All records to be disposed of, will need to be

shredded. I have been through a lot of the records up to

about 2014. My plan is to re-box and label boxes to be

kept since many are currently in bad shape.

As a reference I will be referring to the Annual Confer-

ence "Guidelines for Managing Records of the Local

Church". The storage room has been thoroughly

cleaned and all shelves have been secured and two file

cabinets cleaned.

~Maurice Hahn

Wednesday, February 26th, 7:00 pm

Service of Ashes

Sunday, April 5th, 8:45 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.

Palm Sunday Services

Thursday, April 9th, 7:00 p.m.

Maundy Thursday Service

Friday, April 10th, 12:15 p.m.

Good Friday Service

Sunday, April 12th

7:00 a.m. Sunrise Service

8:45 & 11:00 a.m. Easter Services

Sunday, April 12th, 10:00 a.m.

Easter Brunch

Sunday, April 12th, 10:30 a.m.

Easter Egg Hunt

Lenten Bible Study this year will be

RESTORED, FINDING REDEMPTION IN

OUR MESS

Often we make a mess of our lives and wonder if

there is any redemption. In this book, pastor and

author Tom Berlin helps us see our mess through

the eyes of Christ to find redemption and restora-

tion. Using Scripture, devotional tools, and the

writings of Ignatius of Loyola, John of the Cross,

St. Augustine, John Wesley, Evelyn Underhill, and

others, Berlin encourages reflection and medita-

tion through our own brokenness. Only then can

we focus on the cross as the place where we truly

surrender control, leave our mess, and find re-

demption. Study begins on Sunday, March 1st at

10:00 a.m. Books are available in the church

office for $10.00. Please sign up in the annex if

you plan to attend. Thanks!

As many of you are aware I have taken on the task

of reviewing, organizing and developing a system

for retention and disposition of Church rec-

ords. The vast majority of existing records were in

a "small room" at the top of the back stairs that led

to the old pastor's office on the 2nd floor. This

room was overwhelmed with boxes and boxes of

such items as Committee Records along with

Treasurer's and other Financial Records. These

boxes of records that go back in some cases 50

years or more were randomly stacked and com-

pletely out of order by year, making it difficult to

locate what you were looking for.


Annual UMM Lenten Breakfast

February 29th, 7:15 a.m. Howell UMC

March 7th, 7:15 a.m. McCutchanville

March 14th, 7:15 a.m. Salem UMC

March 21st, 7:15 a.m. Simpson UMC

March 28th, 7:15 a.m. Fairlawn UMC

April 4th, 7:15 a.m. Blue Grass UMC

If you have any questions please see Randall Crayner,

424-5976

Sunday April 12th at 10:30am

1000 Eggs filled with candy, money and prizes!

For Ages Infant - 5th Grade

Everyone’s invited to the potluck Easter Brunch at

10am before the Egg Hunt.

Join us for Easter service at 8:45am or 11am.

Candy Donations Needed

Plastic Easter eggs will be

available in the annex starting

Sunday March 15th. Please

feel free to take as many dozens

of eggs as you would like: fill

them with candy, stickers, mon-

ey ect. and return them to the church no later than

Monday April 6th. Thank you all for your continued

participation in this event!

Schedule for 2020

Meal is served from 5:30-7pm

March 24th

April 28th

May 26th

June 23rd

July 28th

August 25th

September 22nd

October 20th

November 24th

This meal is free and open to anyone in the

community. Come enjoy a fabulous meal and get

to know those people that live, work, play and

worship in your community. Want to volunteer to

help with this meal, contact Lindy Floyd

Dear Simpson friends, I just wanted to share an ex-

perience I had recently at the HUB. I was sitting at

a table drinking coffee and answering emails when

I noticed a young lady a couple tables from me that

appeared to be studying. Every so often I noticed

she had glassy eyes that looked like tears. I ap-

proached her and introduced myself and asked if

she was a student. She responded by telling me she

was a freshman at USI studying Occupational Ther-

apy. We shared some small talk about school and

then I asked if she lived on campus or commuted.

She then teared up again and told me she was from

Ohio and was very homesick. She then told me

something beautiful, She said, “ I come here often

because people here are so friendly and help me

feel closer to home”. I asked her if I could pray

with her, we did and I left. I have seen her a couple

times since. She always waves and smiles.

You all have done an amazing thing here at the

HUB by creating a warm and comfortable place for

people to be themselves and create community.

Thanks so much for your vision and commitment to

“Making Disciple of Jesus Christ for the Transfor-

mation of the World”!

Blessings...

Randy Anderson


Weekday Christian Education

2020 Geranium Sale

This year there are over 750 third and fourth

grade students enrolled in our classes---all are

learning about God’s unconditional love for each

of them!! You can help keep the program

healthy and moving ahead to plant faith seeds of

God’s love!

Colors that will be offered this year are Red, Salm-

on, Pink, White and Hot Pink. Our plants are zonal

geraniums. Rexing’s Blumenhaus in Darmstadt

grows them locally which make them a “hardier”

plant.

Order forms will be available soon. Deadline for

ordering will be Sunday, March 29th. Order will be

available for pick up the end of April. (More infor-

mation will be published in the bulletin in the next

few weeks.) The cost per plant is $6.00 and should

be turned in to Jean Hartman. Payment is expected

at time of order.

Reminder!!!!

Sunday, March 8th

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

2

Communion Sunday

6 pm Babb Grp

3

Pastor’s Sabbath 4 5

6:30 pm Musgrave

Grp

6

Noon—Senior

Lunch

7 8

9

6 pm Babb Grp

10


6:30 pm Musgrave

Grp

13

Noon—Senior

Lunch

5:30 pm HOPS Mtg.

6:30 pm Staff Parish

Meeting

14 15

16

5-6:30 p.m. Valen-

tine’s Dinner

6 pm Babb Grp

17

Pastor’s Sabbath

President’s Day

WSFP & Clothes

Closet Closed

18

10 am Mary Ruth

Circle

6 pm Laura Martha

Circle

19

6 pm UMM Dinner

6:30 pm Musgrave

Grp

20

Noon—Senior

Lunch

21 22

23

6 pm Babb Grp

24

Pastor’s Sabbath 25

5:30 pm Community

Meal

26

7 pm Ashes Service

Ash Wednesday

27

Noon—Senior

Lunch

28 29

7:15 am UMM

Breakfast @ Howell

UMC

Each Sunday:

8:45 am Traditional Worship Service

10 am Sunday School

11 am Contemporary Worship Service

Each Sunday:

8:45 am Traditional Worship Service

10 am Sunday School

11 am Contemporary Worship Service Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

10 am Lent Study

6 pm Babb Grp

Communion Sunday

2

Pastor’s Sabbath

6 pm Trustee Mtg.

3 4

6:30 pm Musgrave

Grp

5

Noon—Senior Lunch

5:30 pm HOPS Meet-

ing

6 7

7:15 am UMM

Breakfast @

McCutchanville

8

10 am Lent Study

6 pm Babb Grp

9


6:30 pm Musgrave

Grp

12

Noon—Senior Lunch

13 14

7:15 am UMM

Breakfast @ Salem

UMC

15

10 am Lent Study

10 am UMW Board

Meeting

6 pm Babb Grp

16


10 am Mary Ruth

Circle

6 pm Laura Martha

Circle

6 pm Finance Team

7 pm AD Team

18

6:30 pm Musgrave

Grp

19

Noon—Senior Lunch

20 21

7:15 am UMM

Breakfast @

Simpson UMC

22

10 am Lent Study

6 pm Babb Grp

23


5:30 pm Community

Meal

25

6:30 pm Musgrave

Grp

26

Noon—Senior Lunch

27 28

7:15 am UMM

Breakfast @

Fairlawn UMC

29

10 am Lent Study

6 pm Babb Grp

30

Pastor’s Sabbath

31

2nd—Brett Allega

3rd—Edythe Patterson

3rd—Sandy Ford

7th—Steven Boyer

8th—Laura Vadbunker

9th—Kathy Peaugh

10th—Rosemary Gulley

10th—Jacob Conner

10th—Joseph Conner

11th—Teri Nolan

19th—Sue Nolte

22nd—David Deer

23rd—Mike Murphy

24th—Charlene Brawner

24th—Bonnie Vance

25th—Anthony LeBarron

26th—David Nolan

8th—David & Sharon Deer

23rd—John & Notomi Berg

30th—Don & Mary Lehmann

1st—Piper Allega

2nd—Lori Ellerbrook

3rd—Brandon Nolan

13th—Leland Kunze

13th—Laurie Thompson

16th—Angela Conner

18th—Gena Allen

23rd—Jerald Boyer

25th—R.J. Ford

26th—John Berg

28th—Dezzi Floyd

1st—Buddy & Angie Higgins

2201 W. Illinois Street

Evansville, IN 47712

Return Service Requested

Phone: 812-423-7636

Fax: 812-422-9241

E-mail: [email protected]

Pastor & Staff

Pastor

Rev. Benjamin Dilworth

Administrative Assistant

Kimbra Reich

Director of Community &

Family Ministries

Lindy Floyd

Director of Music

Jane Scarlett

Pianist, Organist

Teri Nolan

Custodian

Harold Cross

Sunday School

10:00 a.m.

Traditional Service

8:45 a.m.

Contemporary Service

11:00 a.m.

Mission Statement

Through the power of the holy Spirit

our mission is to SEEK OUT and WIN

people to Christ through our words

and actions, MAKE DECIPLES who are

learning and growing in the faith, and

EQUIP PERSONS TO SERVE Christ.

Win, Disciple, Serve

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