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SHUMC Times

Lent: Time to Prepare

The ancient season of Lent is a time to prepare—to prepare for Holy Week when weremember Christ’s work on the cross, and to prepare our hearts for the work of Christ in theworld. It is a somber season, full of deep, dark colors (purple, black) and, hopefully, deepthinking and meditation. Historically, this is a time when Christians around the world spend extratime in prayer and worship, specifically focusing on Christ’s sacrifice for our lives on thecross. Traditionally, Lent was a time of fasting—giving up food to recall the life which Christgave up for us. That has turned into “no meat Fridays” or giving up chocolate or other “indulgences” as a small way of “bearing” the cross. Others actually add something to their lives during Lent:an added prayer, service to others, or new ways of worship.Lent begins on

Ash Wednesday

February 25th

, and we will be celebrating that day with a specialservice at

6 pm

that night. Like last year, this service will be a unique opportunity to meditate onour lives in relationship with God and our own sin. The Worship Committee has put a lot of effortinto the service and it will truly be a special time.In the weeks following, we will have a variety of events here at the church to guide us through theseason. Pastor Jeff will be leading us through a special Lenten sermon series and we will have communion for most of the Sundays in this special season (Pastor Jeff will miss two because of the Honduras trip). Of coursewe will also have special worship services to help us prepare throughout Holy Week. Watch the screens, your bulletins, and the church bulletin boards for more information!Take time—make time—this season of Lent to prepare your hearts for the work of Christ and thesacrifice He made for each of us on the cross.

RED AND WHITE DINNER

Tickets are now on sale at the “Red Table” in the foyer for the “Red and White Dinner” February 20,2009, 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., $15.00 each.Ticket includes full course meal and music furnished by Russell Neas and his BigBand Sound Orchestra.Please plan to come, enjoy a wonderful meal provided by M&M Catering, music, andfellowship with our church family and friends. Pleasant atmosphere and NO CLEAN-UPDUTY!!If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the church office, 743-2013.See you there! (Anybody remember that hot fudge brownie from last year? Yum!)

Pastor Jeff Writes

In December, Southern Hills UMC had quite a scare as one of our members suffered a heart attack during Sunday School. It was a moment those of us who were there will not soon forget, but one,thankfully, that ended well thanks to the quick response of several church members. Thanks toWilma, Tom, and all who responded quickly and prayerfully to that event.Because of that scare, Southern Hills UMC is going to make some changes that you’ll start to seestarting this month. In conjunction with the American Heart Association which has named February“American Heart Month,” we will also be celebrating our hearts this month—by celebrating love, hearingabout good heart health, and learning how to respond in a heart emergency. In other words, coming to churchin February just might be good for your heart!The first thing we will do is offer CPR classes to help more of us respond in the right way should— God forbid—another emergency occur. The first of these classes will be February 7

here at the church andwill be led by our very own Wilma Galatian, a trained CPR educator. A sign-up sheet is available on thechurch bulletin board and many have already signed up! For those who are not able to be there on the 7

,another class will be provided later in the month, which will also be led by a certified instructor That leads me to the important second step we will be taking at Southern Hills UMC to be good for your heart: an AED unit. We have been planning on purchasing an AED for some time now but our December emergency was certainly a catalyst for a faster purchase. Thanks to generous donations of severalin the church, that unit has now been purchased and will be delivered soon. The instructor leading the secondCPR training will also be training us how to use this important and potentially life-saving device. Watch your bulletins (and screens) for training dates.In conjunction with these sessions which help us respond to heart emergencies, we will also focus on preventing these emergencies by discussing good heart health. We will join thousands of others in Tulsa andaround the country by celebrating Go Red Day on Feb. 6

by wearing red to bring awareness specifically towomen’s heart health. We will also have “Go Red Sunday” on Feb. 8

when you are encouraged to wear redagain as we too celebrate women’s heart health. In addition to wearing red, we’ll have special guests tellstories about their heart.As usual, we will not just be talking about heart health—we’re going to walk the walk too. All of usshould, of course, be walking more (feel free to ask me how my workouts are going…I’m back on thehorse…or at least a bike), but what I mean is we’re going to start to make changes to the way we eat as well.We’re going to make a concerted effort to have heart healthy foods at church events. Of course, every nowand then some pizza and cake will sneak by, but you can all help me (and all of us) by making sure you bringheart healthy food (which, by the way, can still taste great!) to pot lucks, hospitality time, etc. Let’s take careof each other’s hearts!Lastly, we’re going to be celebrating the heart a lot this month. Of course, there’s the Valentine’s Daycelebration that will help us celebrate love for that special someone, but we’ll also be celebrating our love for our friends in the church too. On February 20

come to our Red and White Dinner to hear good music, eatgood food, and celebrate good times with your brothers and sisters in the church. All that dancing has got to be good for the heart!Ever since John Wesley’s heart was “strangely warmed” at a gathering on Aldersgate Street,Methodists have always had their finger on the pulse of good heart health. Here atSouthern Hills UMC, we still believe going to church is good for the heart! See you there!Peace,

CHILDCARE ATTENDANTPOSITION

The SPRC Committee is activelysearching for a childcare attendant forSunday mornings. This position will pay$10.00 per hour. The candidate must beavailable from 9:30-12:30 Sundays.Perhaps you may know of someone whowould be an ideal candidate for thisposition. If so, please pass thisinformation on to them. They may contactthe church at 743-2013.Thank you.

Hugs and Kisses,

So Hills United Methodist WomenThe UMW will be meeting Tuesday, Feb.3

at 7:00pm to make Valentines formembers unable to attend church. Allwomen of the church are invited. You donot have to be a UMW member to attendour meetings or other functions. CharStone is our president this year. We lookforward to seeing you for fellowship and aworthwhile project.

SHUMC Book Club– Tuesday, Feb. 10th, 7:00 pm

Her name is Dinah. In the Bible, her life isonly hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters of theBook of Genesis that are about her father,Jacob, and his dozen sons. Told in Dinah'svoice, this novel reveals the traditions andturmoils of ancient womanhood-the worldof the red tent. It begins with the story of her mothers-Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah-the four wives of Jacob. They love Dinah and give her gifts thatare to sustain her through a damaged youth, a calling tomidwifery, and a new home in a foreign land. Dinah'sstory reaches out from a remarkable period of earlyhistory and creates an intimate, immediate connection.Deeply affecting,

The Red Tent

combines rich storytellingwith a valuable achievement in modern fiction: a newview of Biblical women's society.Please join us Tuesday, Feb. 10th, 7:00 pm to discuss thisinteresting and wonderful take on the lives of womenfrom ancient times.

Honduras Trip Heating Up!

Thanks to a Sunday morning missionmoment from Scott Jaynes, our VIM tripto Honduras has gained momentum aswe get closer to our departure date of March 15

. As of this writing, we have six confirmed members travellingto Honduras over Spring Break (March 15-22) to buildmany things—especially our relationship with our missionary, Randy Webster. We’ll most likely beworking on sheetrock for Pastor Webster’s mission field(probably the parsonage) and will also have anopportunity at the end of our trip to visit the beautifulisland of Roatan. It’s almost too late to sign up…but if you call soon you just might be able to join this “hot”trip! If you cannot join us, please keep our team in prayer as we prepare for an amazing experience. Also, if you’d like to support the team financially, simply putVIM Honduras on a check or scholarship a specific teammember. ¡Muchas gracias!

Prayer Shawl Ministry

We will be meeting on the 3rdSaturday of every month. Our firstmeeting will be

February 21st, from2:00—3:30 pm

in the SHUMCParlor. Please bring supplies: if knitting—yarn, needles size 11 or 10 or 13, if crocheting—hooks size M, N, or P. You willneed at least 3 skeins of yarn to complete ashawl.Please contact Virginia Alexander at 749-2945or cell phone 859-9374 for more information.