Olive Crest United Methodist Church
7180 North 60th Street
Omaha, Nebraska 68152

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Rev. Debra Tompsett-Welch

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Olive Branch Newsletter For March 2001

Missions

By Kurt Lambrecht

To My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Greetings once again!

Well, it looks like Spring is still trying to elude us this year, even if the temperatures are raising slightly and the sun is staying up longer each day. Now, I'm happy to see it warm up as the next person. No more snow to shovel or blow, no more ice to try to drive on, no more whiteouts on the highway, and no more freezing your fingers off while trying to work on equipment and cars outside. But warming up adds all other sorts of other jobs. Lawn work and the equipment maintenance involved. Gardens need to be started and weeded. Outside repairs that have been put off because of the cold weather, and a hundred other jobs that need to be done. Add in working a full-time job and a part-time job, and that doesn't leave much time for anything else.

As I started writing this article, I wasn't sure on what to write about. But my mind started drifting back to Reverend Michael and Micole Morgan's children's sermon on Sunday, about leaving room for God in one's life, and I, like many of us, sometimes feel like there isn't enough time for such. There's this and that to get done right now, I will worry about that later. But that later never comes, just more things that "need to get done", and God sometimes gets pushed to the wayside. Now, you can live that way for a while, but after too long, things just start to shrivel up and die inside. We forget the important things like God, the family, our friends, etc, and concentrate only on us.

I have heard of the "Me Generation", those that have not had to worry about much, and are so self-centered and narcissistic that they leave mankind behind in their thoughts, only worrying about their own comfort. But our work seems to breed this. Look at TV ads. They say that you will be better, cooler, and more attractive if you use this or that product. But it's the inner you that counts, not the outside facade. A place has to be made for God in your life, or you will die inside. Not a physical death, but a death of spirit, of caring, and of just being human, not an automaton. No matter what our employers want, people are not machines, though they try to mold us into machines by the way they treat people.

Be better than that. Treat people as human beings, not machines, and let the light of God shine into your life if you need help with it. And don't think you can do it yourself. It is not an easy job. But every job is easier with help, and this one, this work of bringing Christ and God and the Holy Spirit into you life is one of those. We have a group that get together each Sunday at 10:30 AM that does this, and that is our church family, our church's congregation, that all share a similar goal, to become closer to God. If we all help each other, we will get to that state. Together.

Well, time to get off my soapbox and get on to the important stuff. Now, a couple of weeks ago, as a joint effort of the Hunger and Missions Committees, we have started a once a month PUSH FOR PEARL PANTRY, to help them rebuild their stocks of food after one of the coldest winters we have had in a few years. The last Sunday of the each month will be used to help fill the contribution box at the rear of the sanctuary, as well as the contribution jar for Pearl Pantry, since for them, a dollar equals $12. We will be doing this for the next few months.

As for the Missions Committee, we have sat a date for the International Food Fair, for the second Saturday in May, which is the 12th, unless there are any difficulties in getting everything sat up, the weather, etc. Also, there is the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Cornerstone Memorial, which at the Annual District Conference each church in the district was asked to donate one brick to the construction of the monument. It's only $100 for the smallest brick, which if every member of the church contributed a dollar, we could pay for it immediately.

Finally, I would like to thank the United Methodist Women for the Potato bake last Sunday, for such a delicious meal. I would also like to congratulate them for raising so much to help replace the aging furniture in the Fellowship Room.

That's pretty much all there is for now, other than in a couple of weeks, on the 18th, the Missions Committee will have a quick meeting after church unless people contact me to let me know that it will not work with their schedules. Let me know as soon as possible so we can re-schedule. Thank you all so very much, and may God bless you and yours. As always, I remain Your Most Humble and Obedient Servant in Christ Jesus,

Kurtis W. Lambrecht, Hunger and Missions Committee Chairperson

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