tyler street newsletter july 2013

7/28/2019 Tyler Street Newsletter July 2013

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Almost ChristianPrior to this years Annual Conference,

Bishop McKee asked the clergy to read the

book,Almost Chrisan: What the faith of

our teenagers is telling the American

church. The books author, Kenda CreasyDean, would be one of our Conference

speakers. The book, as well as Deans ses-

sions, proved to be the most provocave,

challenging and enriching Annual Confer-

ence experiences Ive had.

The material made such an impres-

sion on Pastor Cheryl and I, we are plan-

ning a church-wide brown baglunch book

study for Sunday, July 28, 12:30 pm in

Yeats Hall. It should last about an hour.

We hope you make plans to aend.

Deans research for the book is basedon The Naonal Study of Youth and Reli-

gion, the most ambious study of Ameri-

can teenagers and religion to date, (16).

Briey, the research reveals ve key nd-

ings:

1. Most American teenagers have a posi-

ve view of religion but otherwise

dont give it much thought. (17). Ac-

cording to Dean, teens are not hosle

to religion; they just dont care aboutit very much.

2. Most U.S. teenagers mirror their par-

ents religious

faith. (18)

3. Teenagers

lack a theolog-ical language

with which to

express their

faith or inter-

pret their ex-

perience of the

world. (18). They

could say God but

couldnt arculate

Jesus.

4.

A minority of American teenagers but a signicant minority say reli-

gious faith is important, and that it

makes a dierence in their lives.

These teenagers are doing beer in

life on a number of scales, compared

to their less religious peers. (19)

5. Many teenagers enact and espouse a

religious outlook that is disnct from

tradional teachings of most world

religions an outlook called MoraliscTherapeuc Deism. (21).

GATHER GROW GIVE GO

July 2013

Ed Lantz

Senior Pastor

CHRISTIAN connued on page 2

Tyler StreetUnited Methodist Church

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DallasTX

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Phone:214.9

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CHRISTIAN (connued from front page)

6. Moralisc boils faith down to doing

good. Therapeuc boils down to

feeling good. Deism means that

God stays out of the way. This kind of

false Chrisanity is simply not compel-

ling to teens, nor should it be.

Dean is quick to point out, however,

that the research is not an indictment on

teens. She writes, The most likely explana-

on for Moralisc Therapeuc Deism is

simply that we reap what we sow. We have

received from teenagers exactly what we

have asked them for: assent, not convic-

on; compliance, not faith. Young people

invest in religion precisely what they think it

is worth and if they think the church is

worthy of benign whatever-ism and no

more, then the indictment falls not onthem, but on us.If teenagers are members

of the Church of Benign Whatever-ism, it is

because we are too. (37, 39).

Deans work is not meant to be discour-

aging, however. Rather, it oers a realisc

challenge that leads to hope. Following

Jesus is not simply about doing good or

feeling good. Jesus is the transcendent

God of the universe who calls us by name to

follow him. Dean also points out that par-

ents, family members and churches can

have powerful posive inuences, if they

accept the challenge. As Bishop McKee

says, We are to tell the story of Jesus and

live the story of Jesus so that His story will

become their story.

I hope you join us on July 28 for our

brown bag lunch and book study. I look

forward to seeing you. If you would like to

purchase a book for $17, let Pastor Cheryl

know asap. You dont need to purchase the

book to parcipate in the discussion.

I am very grateful to be re-appointed to

serve Tyler Street. What a privilege!

Blessings,

Ed

Page 2 Page 3Tyler Street United Methodist Church www.tsumc.org

EACH ONE, REACH ONEThis is a challenge to every mem-

ber, visitor and friend of Tyler

Street. Reach out to friends,

neighbors and those you meet

throughout your day. Make it

your mission to invite and/or

bring someone to church every

week. Go to the street corners

and invite to the banquet anyone

you nd. Mahew 22:9

We will have a Service of Heal-ing on Sunday, June 30, at 6 pm

in the Chapel. Please join us.Invitaon to PrayJames McDonald asks, "When was the last

me you parcipated in a faith-driven, ex-

pectaon-lled prayer meeng that invited

God to reveal His glory and show up in power

at your church?" (Vercal Church, 270)

Every Sunday morning,everyone isinvited

to a brief, but intenonal me of prayer for

this very purpose. We will be meeng from

8:10-8:20 and from 10:35-10:45 in room 402

on the fourth oor. Let's pray together.

Blessings,

Pastor Ed

O

n Monday, June 3rd

I knelt at

the altar at First United Meth-

odist Church of Richardson.

Bishop Michael McKee laid his

hands upon my head and told me to takethy authority. When I arose it was an-

nounced that I was an Elder of The United

Methodist Church. This came aer many

arduous years, struggles with papers, and

nerve wracking interviews. Aer a few

tears, congratulatory hugs and photo ops

it sunk in --- I made it! And then right at

that moment I realized that it was not a

desnaon but a journey that I was on. It

was not the end of the road but a bend in

the road.

Not only was this a journey it was one

that I was not travelling alone.

Yes, I was the only one kneeling be-

fore the Bishop but I know that I did not

get to this place alone. I was surrounded

by supporve family, friends and col-

leagues. I realized that I was able to stand

there because of those who went before

me, anchored by the prayers, love and

support of a host of others. My journey

was their journey. Life in Christ is not

travelled alone. Not only do we have the

Holy Spirit but God provides us with trav-

elling companions. It is the spirit of Ub-

untu.

The word Ubuntu originates from a

Bantu dialect. It is an African philosophy

that has the understanding that we can-

not separate ourselves from God and who

we are in God becomes who we are with

and for each other. In essence I am be-

cause we are.

We are because

God is. I stood

there because

there are thosewho gave of

themselves with-

out concern that

they would de-

crease but in

hopes, prayers

and giving

through God, the

community

would increase. I

must say thank you to so many.

I say thank you to my parents, Lois and

William Hopson who walked before me as

Chrisans before I knew the denion of

a Chrisan.

To the one whom I believe that God

stopped and created just for me ---- to my

best friend, my life partner, my husband,

Odis Jones, Jr. I thank him for being my

greatest support. Next to Jesus he is THE

best thing that ever happened to me.

To my sister, Jackie, who was my Chief

Research Assistant from a distance (and

oen from her sick bed), I say thank you.

She was always there to lend a hand.

There are so many clergy persons and

churches that I have to thank for geng

me to this point of the journey. What an

awesome trip it has been so far. The many

people that I have shared the road with

made this a journey of a lifeme.

To the Arcadia Park Church family and

Not the end of the road,

but a bend in the road

Cheryl Jones

Associate Pastor

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ROAD (connued from page 3)

Tyler Street Praise Band at Wesley Rankin

Pastor Cheryl and her mother

One Community Concert

Wesley Rankin Community Center

Jamie Nelson, Ed Lantz, SarahSquires, Pablo Guardiola

Cooling o in the shade.

the Lay teaching commiee that came out of both of my churches, I must say thank

you for all that you have done for me.

I must extend a very special thank you to Rev. Ed Lantz, a fabulous Pastoral Sta

and the enre Tyler Street Church family. You guys are the best.

To all of those who believed in me and helped me to see something in myself

that I could not see or understand, I say thank you. For the unending love, prayer and

support of many, I say thank you.To all of you, I covenant to be faithful in my relaonship with Christ so that all

that I do will be a witness and a testament of your prayers and your support. I will

always carry myself to make you proud to say that we are travelling together. A

bend in the road is not the end of the road unless you fail to make the turn-- author

unknown. May God bless us as we connue our ministry journey together around

this bend in the road.


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Joseph GrinUniversity of North Texas

Joseph, 17, graduated from The School for theTalented and Gied Magnet at Yvonne EwellTownview Center. He graduated with honor

and as a Texas Scholar. He worked weekendswhile he parcipated in many UIL school choirand A Capella Ensemble events. He will aendUNT in the fall majoring in music composionand music theory.

Daniel HauserUniversity of Texas at San Antonio

Daniel graduated from Wakeland High School in

Frisco. He is currently working for a dog day careand kennel for the summer unl he aends theUniversity of Texas at San Antonio in the Fall topursue a medical science degree.

Jordan WalkerRichland Community College

Jordan graduated from Booker T. Wash-ington High school in the top quarter ofhis class. He played trumpet in the windensemble (4 years) and symphony or-chestra (3Years). This allowed him topick up other instruments such as guitar,drums, bass guitar and piano. Aermany months of prayer, Jordan has de-cided to aend Richland CommunityCollege with an undeclared major.

Michael BrunerTexas A&M

Michael was born in the Solomon Islandsand spent his childhood on the beaches ofthe Solomons and in the mountains ofPapua New Guinea. He has lived in Texasfor the last ve years. A couple of years

ago, he got a job at Crea's Bakery in Duncanville,working aer school and on Saturdays. He spent his enre rst

paycheck (and a bunch of paychecks aer) on camera equipment, andstarted making videos and taking slls. He's been to State media techcompeons twice, and this year won the district short lm compeon(with the help of his brother, Jacob.) Michael has been accepted into thepresgious Visualizaon Program at Texas A&M University, where he willconnue to study lm animaon.

Gaby GarciaBeauty College

Gaby, 17, graduated from Dallas Can Acad-emy. She plans to aend a beauty collegefor fun and truly nd what God needs herto do with her life. She later wants to trav-el the world and introduce God to thosewho don't know Him.

Travis GarzaPurdue University

Travis graduated from St. MarksSchool of Texas with honors. His ex-tracurricular acvies included: fenc-ing, wrestling, crew, robocs, andHabitat for Humanity. Travis will pur-sue a degree in engineering at Purdue

University.

The Senior Class of 2013


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Thank you for your investment in the

ministries of Tyler Street.Financial up-date through May 31, 2013:

Jan-May Budgeted Giving $328,792

Jan-May Actual Giving $300,015 or 91%

Jan-May Giving under budget $28,777 or 9%

Sanctuary

Renovaons

underway

Renovaons are now taking place on the

plaorm area of our sanctuary. These chang-

es will retain the beauty of our sanctuary, but

will enhance the usefulness of the space. In

addion, new carpet is on the way.

Tyler Street UMC

Blood Drive

Sunday, June 30in Yeats Hall during both

worship services and

Sunday School.

Friday, July 19

5-9 pm

Includes dinner and plentyof fun only $5 per child.

Jesus Christ got to work right away when

TSUMC started the Project Hope Ministry.

We teacher our children that Jesus is with

us always, but as we age, do we believe it

and do we recognize him and his works? I

was fortunate to see Jesus Christ at work

many mes this year

while geng to know

and love one of theProject Hope families.

Many of you have

heard some of the sto-

ries I have shared about

this most remarkable Chris-

an family. When Elia gave

her $100 bonus to her sister, who along

with her 2 yr. old had been hospitalized for

typhoid, that was a God moment that

caused me to pause and think would I have

done that. When the oldest son in the

family, whose name is Jesus, struggled to

pass his required TAKS test in order to

graduate, God taught us to pray and trust

him and to persevere when we are scared.

God sent us who and what Jesus needed to

pass the test. Many of you were prayer

warriors for him. Jim Bayless and a volun-

teer teacher from Jesuit provided needed

math tutoring and members of

Oak Cli UMC joined in prayerfor him.

I am delighted to share this pic-

ture of Jesus at his graduaon.

He has a bright future, not just

because he graduated from high

school, but because he knows God answers

prayer, comforts us in mes of disappoint-

ment, sends who and what we need when

we ask for his help. As you go about your

week, I pray that you, too, will remember

these promises God made to you.

Project

Big celebraon for Jesus!!Jesus the Savior and Jesus the graduang senior from Sunset

Capital Campaign

Total pledged to the 36-month cam-paign $306,450

Aer 23 months (7-

1-

11 thru 5-

31-

13), we have received $235,000(includes unpledged gis)

There are 13 months remaining tofulll pledges to The Time is Right.

Join us this sum-

mer at the Drive-In! Every

Wednesday in

June and July,Tyler Street will

oer the com-munity a free

movie including

free popcornand lemonade!

Dear friends at Tyler Street,Thanks for the many beaufulcards and memories sent for mybirthday. It has been such ablessing to me. It has been areal card shower! Alice Hargis

MemorialsIn memory of Uncle Alvin

Dutch Hamilton given by LeeAnne Robinson.In memory of Georgia Hancock

given by Janet Rhodes.

In memory of Allen Hargis givenby Alice Hargis.In memory of Roy Hargis given byAlice Hargis.

by Kathy Benne


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7/8


The following is shared by the childrenof our Mother of the Year:

We'd like to frame our thoughts, not

with a list of what our mother has accom-

plished over the years, but rather who she

is and how she lives. We'd like to share

with you why our mother is what the Bible

terms a virtuous woman: Her price is far

above rubies.

We are so very proud of her for being

named Mother of the Year this year, for

she has lived it for over 50 years. She has

truly lived a Chrisan life, one that she

doesn't take lightly and one which she

pracces daily. She begins each day with a

quiet me in Scripture, prayer and medita-

on at home and on vacaon.

By the world's standards, she may not

be recognized as a "remarkable" woman,

but to us, she embodies just that. She is

kind and compassionate, loving and forgiv-

ing, honest, yet sweet. She is interested

and interesng.

She invests in her family, her friends,her church, her health, her life the life

with which God has blessed her. Ask her

friends from the Two by Two Class and

they'll tell you the same thing, she is genu-

ine in her care for all the people in her life.

She has known many joys in her life;

she also knows - too well - the hard knocks

which can dampen a spirit. But she perse-

veres by her indomitable and joyous spirit

of how to live. Not that it has come easy,

but because she culvates grace in her dai-

ly living.

The Bible tells us that the virtuous

woman arose early, before the rest of her

household. Mom always did that. She al-

ways cooked us a big breakfast every day:

bacon, eggs, toast; biscuits, sausage and

gravy; oatmeal with brown sugar and a dab

of buer; muns, waes, or pancakes!

Though our Dad preferred cold cereal,

mom didn't think we could survive unl

lunch without a good, hearty breakfast. If

we'd had a maid, I'm sure Mom would have

xed breakfast for her, too.

Mom was - and is - a perfeconist; she

never had the atude that "this is close

enough for government work." Everything

had to be just so. She'd measure and re-

measure unl she was sure that it was just

right. Anything she made was well-made,

having believed that anything doing was

worth doing right. Mom really should have

been an engineer.

She was always a hard worker; she

always has a "project" in progress. Mom

always shopped at many stores and made

all the sales, even if she used more gas

driving further.

Mom knew how to sew: she made her

wedding dress. She worked on her old foot

treadle machine and daddy handed her the

yards and yards of neng while she ran it

through the machine. Terri had a new East-er dress every year, and rarely had "store -

bought" clothes. At the me, Terri consid-

ered it a treat to get to have a store-bought

clothing item. Now, Terri realizes what a

treasure collecon of clothes she really

had. Mom went on to sew custom drapes

and curtains for her houses, and for Russ'

home.

No marriage is perfect and although

they had their share of struggles, like eve-

ryone else, mom always honored daddy.They were married 55 years to the glory of

God!

Mom has always been the self-

sacricing one. She got the burnt toast,

took the smallest piece of meat, the small-

est roll, or dessert. She allowed daddy and

us to choose rst. On an RV trip once, she

gave the last blanket to the grandson

whose lips were turning blue and in the

process ended up with a broken wrist for

her sacrice.

I can count on one hand the mes that

she and dad missed a program that her

children or grandchildren were in. And

that's a lot of programs! They'd y or drive

halfway across the country to see one of

Russ' Shows. Rare was the me if they ever

missed one of Randy's football or basket-

ball games. They were such a support to us

and to all her grandkids.

Mom lives a life of service. She sll is

busy with taking anyone in need to the

doctor, vising them in the hospital, drop-

ping by to visit a "shut-in," or someone in

the hospital, she also worked with Ray

Truesdell in the Food and Clothing Bank;

she took Christmas ornaments to the shut-

ins. She went to the hospital and stayed

many nights with our grandmother and

didn't get much sleep. The list is endless.

She doesn't have an idle bone in her body.

Mom is a gentle woman. She rarelyspeaks harshly, has a sweet tone of voice,

and always has an encouraging word for us.

She never talks behind anyone's back. She

chooses to see the best in people.

Mom is 75 years young, and geng

more beauful each year! Even as that

physical beauty may fade, her real beauty

comes from within because she does fear

and love the Lord! She is always sensive

to that "sll, small voice." We are grateful

that God gave us our mother and for givingus such a beauful example of a Godly

mother. She's put up with us all these

years! If daddy were sll here, he would

praise her as well.

We pray that mom's character will live

on in Terri, Russ, and Randy. She is such an

example to all of us in so many areas.

Mom, you are, indeed, a virtuous woman,

worth more than rubies and we love you!

Our 2013 Mother of the Year is Janet

Rhodes!


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tyler street newsletter july 2013

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