A Word From Pastor Bob
“Disaster!”
I just spilled a cup of tea on my laptop keyboard. I tried drying it with a hair dryer, but it won’t boot up and the screen is blank. The problem is that I haven’t backed up my files since before my trip to Nepal. So I feel lost and adrift, cut off from all of my recent files. It’s a lonely feeling.
The word that describes this situation is “disaster.” This word originated as a nautical term and literally means “can’t see the stars.” When a ship’s captain couldn’t see the stars, he couldn’t navigate at night and was susceptible to dangers like rocks and icebergs.
I’ll admit that my disaster is minor compared to calamities like a major illness, financial ruin or the death of a loved one. My disaster can be fixed by buying a new computer and, hopefully, recovering the data from my hard drive.
To overcome a disaster, we need resilience, resourcefulness and faith. Our faith assures us that in a disaster, God is with us giving us the strength and courage to survive and thrive. Our faith allows us to see the stars once again so we can navigate the waters of life.
Bob
Special Announcements
Work Day on Saturday, May 19, 9 a.m.-12 noon
The Trustees have scheduled our Spring work day at Memorial on May 19. We have a long list of do-it-yourself projects. Bring your tools, your painting equipment and a willingness to work. Coffee and donuts. (If you can't come on Saturday, you could come to CK's work day on Sunday, May 20, at 2 p.m.) Click here for work day jobs.
Organ Concert on June 2!
On Saturday, June 2, we will be treated to an organ concert on Memorial’s world-class pipe organ, compliments of the Trout Organ Fund. Mr. Paul Vasile, Minister of Music at Park Avenue Christian Church, Manahttan, will be the featured artist. At 5:30 there will be a potluck supper in the Fireside room and the concert will begin at 6:30 p.m.
Memorial/CK Worship Service and Picnic is June 10
On Sunday, June 10, we will celebrate our shared ministry covenant with Central Korean UMC. A joint worship service with communion will begin at 11 a.m. followed by a picnic on the grounds. Games for all ages will follow the picnic. Please call Angela at the church office if you can bring a grill to cook hotdogs and hamburgers
Sunday at Memorial
Sunday School!
All children ages 3 – 5th Grade are welcome to join the Sunday School every week following the Children’s Sermon. We use the Season of the Spirit curriculum please feel free to check it out at http://www.spiritseasons.com . See Darlene DiDomineck for more details!
Fellowship Coffee Hour 11am Hosted by Cathlene Terbetski and Ann Roman
ENGAGE (11:45-12:30) As many of you know, the United Methodist Church just recently held it's General Conference. This world-wide conference happens once every four years. Three of our members - Darlene, Jayson, and Helen will report to us on the decisions that were reached there. We encourage everyone to come as we listen to them and ask them questions about what happened and where the church may be headed in the future.
Youth Group (11:45-1:45 – Youth Coffee House) All youth in Grades 6th-12th are welcome to join us for lunch, fun and planning for the year!
The Week at Memorial
Sundays -Crochet lessons are now over
Tuesday : 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Tuesdays @ Dorry’s (s.article) at Dorry's
Wednesday Noon Bible Study 12PM -1PM so folks, who need to, can get back to work. Led by Rev. David Parker discussing the scripture lecturing lesson for the upcoming Sunday.
Wednesday Evening Bible 6:30pm - A light supper is served at 6:30pm and the study will meet from 7-8.
TUESDAYS@DORRY'S
Tuesdays @ Dorry’s 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., Food ordering starts at 5:30 p.m.
Dorry’s Diner • 468 Mamaroneck Avenue • White Plains • 914-682-0005: gathers “conversation partners” weekly for informal table talk, and sometimes we hear live music. There is no charge. Just come and order your food from Sylvia, who serves all of us. Everyone is welcome. Please join us. No reservations are needed. Tuesdays @ Dorry’s is coordinated by Dorry’s friends at Memorial United Methodist Church, Congregation Kol Ami, Sisters of the Divine Compassion and The White Plains Examiner .
MAY 22 - Ted Chiappari - Immigration Attorney
The politics of immigration and tough decisions about immigration policy must ultimately be translated into immigration laws and regulations enforced by our government. The complexity of our immigration rules reflects the ambiguity our society feels toward immigrants and the compromises that have been made in passing immigration legislation. Ted Chiappari is an immigration attorney in New York City who primarily represents employers seeking work visas for employees. He will explore some of those complexities of our immigration laws as an expression of our ambiguity, and will also explore how concerns about our immigration system could be addressed by better implementation of existing laws rather than through new legislation.
MAY 29 - Assemblyman George Latimer
JUNE 5 -DAVID GRAVITZ the inexorable math behind pension costs - why they keep rising
Newspapers around the county, state and nation have written from time to time about how many towns, cities, counties and school districts have had frequent increases in real estate and school taxes as a result of their having to pay for their share of pension costs, as mandated by the states. Why do these costs keep going up when interest rates are so low and other costs stay the same or go down? David Gravitz, a Dorry's regular and a retired consulting actuary, has been a pension actuary throughout his working career. The founder of the company David worked for established the NY City and NY State retirement plans almost 100 years ago, as well as many other municipal pension plans. David will explain, in relatively simple terms, the inexorable math that drives the funding of pension plans and results in many counter-intuitive truths regarding them. He will explain why many private employers have switched their defined benefit pension plans to 401(k) plans. He will also discuss Social Security and why he thinks Social Security will be able to meet its commitments in our lifetimes. This topic affects us all, as most of us and our spouses will receive pensions and Social Security benefits at retirement.
JUNE 12 -PRE-EVENT at 4:30-the 2nd Tuesday Needlework Group
Meet at 4:30 to learn, bring work as you please, help, teach and chat before the program of the evening. We might adopt charitable projects at times, or recommend them, when we meet. It's a work in progress like many of our projects.
All welcome, even if you don't knit, crochet, quilt, needlepoint or weave.
MAIN EVENT at 5:30, with talk at 6:00-Milagros Lecuona-White Plains Common Council Member
On plans for the Tappan Zee Bridge
Upcoming Events
Honoring Kim Honig May 19th -Church Women United/ White Plains Unit 2012 May Friendship Day
Annual May Friendship Day Luncheon Saturday, May 19, 2012 Antun's of Westchester, 35 Valley Avenue, Elmsford, New York Please Join us in celebrating Our Annual Friendship Day Luncheon: 12:30pm Donation: $65.00 Admission by Reservation Only - No Door Sales - Call Church Office for a Reservation
Saturday, May 19th, 2012 - 9am - 1pm Journey into the heart of Compassion - Our call to birth new life and hope in a broken-hearted world. The Sisters of Divine Compassion present Edwina Gateley, Poet, theologian, writer , mystic at Good Counsel Campus. 52. N. roadway White Plains, NY 10603. Donation of $20 before may 12th, After May 12th $25. Light refreshment. To register call 914 798-1202 or go to www.dcspiritualitycenter.org.
May 20 -Attention all Knitters and Crotcheters! We are continuing our project of making scarves for gifts at Christmas that have gone in the past to Anchor House (residential drug rehab facility for men and women), The Children's Home, UM Nursing Homes and STEP (for incarcerated women). Thanks to those who do so much work and we would like to invite others to be a part of the activity. On May 20 after church we will meet to share our work (bring in scarves you have made) and share ideas. We will have a small display so members can see what is being done "hands on" and a bit about the programs. If you are interested in making scarves, the only requirement is to make the size approximately 6 - 8 inches wide and 50 inches long. All the recipients appreciate them and we have received notes of thanks.
June 2, 2012 - Rainbow of Promises - a Tea Party with a difference - 5pm - 8 p - Royal Regency hotel, 165 Tuckahoe Rd, Yonkers, NY 10710. presented by First Community Church of the Nazarene. Vendors, fashion show, silent auction, table setting contest, live entertainment, refreshments, prizes! Donation $65.00 per person. Call 914 347-2601 for more information.
June 15 - Life Line Screening -Help save a life and receive a donation for MUMC in the process!
I wanted to tell all of you about an important service that we are bringing to Memorial United Methodist Church on 6/15/2012. According to the National Stroke Association, approximately 97% of Americans cannot recognize the signs of stroke and that is why we have decided to bring Life Line Screening, a leading mobile health screening service, into our organization to offer life-saving ultrasound screenings.
Most people don’t realize that these tests are not typically offered during a regular physical, as they are not usually covered by insurance. Please consider taking part in these life-saving screenings.
We are happy to announce that Life Line Screening is working with us to provide our members $10 additional discounts off of a screening package in addition to a $10 donation to Memorial United Methodist Church. If you or someone you know would like to sign up, please place your name, the tests you would like and your phone number on the sign-up sheet in the Narthex or call the Church office at 914 949-2146. Please note that you must sign up through us in order for us to receive our $10 donation as well. A representative from Life Line will be calling you soon to confirm your exact appointment time.
Join in the fight against vascular disease! Thank you so much. Click here for video
MLK library's book reviews
Please visit the Martin Luther King, Jr. Freedom Library – right in Memorial’s Fireside Room! We are open Mondays 5:00-7:00 pm, Tuesdays 4:00-6:00 pm, Thursdays 1:30-4:30 pm AND by appointment (call 949-6555). If there is enough interest, we could open once a month for an hour after your service.
We have books on Peace, Nonviolence, Anti-Racism, Civil Rights Movement, Dr. King and other great peacemakers, other outstanding African-Americans, African-American History and more.
Here are a couple of books you can borrow. We will regularly provide new short reviews of books in our library.
THREE BOOKS BY WOMEN AUTHORS
Motley, Constance Baker. Equal Justice Under Law. Ferrer, Straus and Giroux, 1998.
This book is a great read, being the autobiography of Motley, a black lawyer who worked closely with Marshall and the NAACP to bring Brown v. Board of Education into the social warp of the entire country. She was also James Meredith's lawyer. Her explanation of Plessy v. Ferguson as a backdrop to the first fifty years of the 20th century is particularly enlightening.
Walker, Alice. You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down. Open Road Media, 2011 (reprint).
A fine "womanist" book, it explores the black woman's role in the '60s revolution. She has strong feelings -- about pornography and rape in particular, as they relate to men and their feelings of empowerment over women.
Wilson, Harriet. Our Nig; or, Sketches from the Life of a Free Black. Introduction and notes by Henry Louis Gates. Vintage, 1983.
Dr. Gates claims thast this novel is the first piece of narrative literature written and published by a black woman (pre-Civil War). As such, it is an interesting melodrama that affords the reader insights about how the northern black person lived no differently than those in servitude.
Please use www.goodsearch.com as your search engine and select Westchester Martin Luther King Institute as the cause you support – we get 1 cent for every search, and that adds up! And if you use their link to many popular store websites, we get a percent of the sale. Thank you.
Volunteer Opportunities
Memorial UMC Emergency Assistance Program/Good Samaritan Fund Needs Your Help!
Every day 200,000 of our neighbors in Westchester County are food insecure. Members of the Memorial family and the greater White Plains community look to faith communities for critical assistance during times of crisis and struggle. Help us reach out in solidarity to our neighbors in need. As the weather gets colder utility bills increase and so have requests for assistance from our neighbors.
Wish List
Financial donations of all amounts are greatly needed to assist with utility bills, and rent/mortgage arrears.
Gift Cards in $5, $10, $20 increments to:
• Grocery Stores: (Stop and Shop, Pathmark, A&P)
• Gas Stations
• Drug Stores: (Duane Reade, CVS, Target, Walgreens, Rite Aid)
The Memorial UMC Emergency Assistance Program is open Mondays from 3PM – 6PM.For more information contact Deaconess Darlene DiDomineck.
Memorial Thrift Shop is always seeking Volunteers
Shop Location: Memorial United Methodist Church (MUMC) 250 Bryant Avenue, White Plains, NY 10605
Hours of Operation: Mon -Wed 10–2, Fri -Sat 10–4. For More Information Contact MUMC at 914-949-2146 or The LOFT at 914-948-2932. Benefiting Memorial United Methodist Church and The LOFT: LGBT Community Services Center.
Fellowship Coffee Hour
Volunteers needed for Coffee hour. Please sign up online, click here, or on the form out side the Narthex. contact Angela Stone or call her at 914 949-2146. Instructions for Coffee Hour click here.
Support Memorial's "250" neighbors
Four organizations are based at Memorial, 250 Bryant Avenue:
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250 Bryant Avenue
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