Prayers Lifted on Sunday, September 1

• Of healing, for friends seeking medical advice for an illness - Ron Y.
• Of healing, for Grandma who is in hospital
• Of healing and concern for my granddaughter who is having major surgery this Friday at Mt. Sinai.
• For all students, educators and administrators as they begin a new school year.
• Of gratitude, for essential workers and all who we honor on Labor Day.
• For peace in the holy land.
• For all those living with cancer, especially this month for those with Ovarian cancer.

Altar Flowers

Sunday September 1, 2024

In loving memory of my dear wife

Melda Jean

on her 83rd birthday

September 1, 2024

Dave Pike

Altar Flowers

Sunday September 8, 2024

For Peter and Mike

In honor and appreciation of their talents

and guidance over these past

10 and 5 years respectively

Nan Canfield

This Sunday's service on September 8th at 10:00 AM  will include Leah Van Doornik (horn), Ron Yarger (flute), with Peter Hill (piano), performing Song of the Forest by William Kersten. Join us!

The Ukulele Orchestra will next meet on Saturday, September 7th at 10:00 AM. For more information please contact Peter Hill at the below email address.

Thank you to all Sunday morning ministers who performed and helped during the Summer months! We appreciate your willingness to make our Summer Sunday morning services more substantial. Thank you to members of the instrumental ensemble, members of the Wesley Ringers, singers in the Summer Choirs, our flautists, horn players, trumpet players, violin players, ukulele players, and our greeters, ushers, and audio artists who added beauty to our Sunday morning services. 

The Covenant Choir will meet to begin the music program season on Sunday, September 8th at 8:45 AM. The Choir will first perform on Sunday, September 15th. If you are not yet part of the choir but would like to find out more, please contact Peter Hill, Director of Music Ministries, at petepiano@mac.com. 

Thank You!

To all who donated supplies for St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center

located in Madison.

The collection table was overflowing!

The animals at St. Hubert’s and the people who care for them

are grateful for your generosity.

Well done!

You're Invited…

Our in person worship increased by 2% in the year 2023. Our online worship increased by 74% in 2023! I hope you can be part of our online worship team by volunteering to read and film yourself reading the lectionary text for Sunday worship. This can be a wonderful way to stay connected with Chatham UMC, and be a part of God’s message to the world. You are invited to sign up for a certain date and text here.

You can film yourself in landscape mode on your smartphone or computer, then text it to me so that I can edit your scripture reading video into the online worship video. This is one way of sharing God’s love with all people, all over the world!

I welcome your questions and interest!

Thanks,

Jeff

In response to interest and requests from parents in our congregation, this fall we’ll be offering a Faith Formation opportunity for children up to and including 4^th graders during part of our 10:00 am worship service. Children will head to their Faith Formation group right after the scripture reading and before the sermon. The group will be led by members of the congregation, will include Singing and Signing with Peter Hill, and will meet twice a month. The dates for this opportunity in September will be the 15^th (Rally Day) and the 29^th. After September, the group will meet on the second and fourth Sundays of the month. Stay tuned for more details!

Faith Formation groups for Middle School (grades 5-8) and High School (grades 9-12) will meet following the 10:00 am worship service from 11:15 am - noon, beginning on Sunday, September 29th.

Questions? Interested in helping?

Contact Pastor Sharon Yarger at scyarger@optonline.net or at the church office.

Book Review

From Wild Man to Wise Man:

Reflections on Male Spirituality

By Richard Rohr 

There are very few books that I’ll read more than once. I’m nearly finished a second reading of From Wild Man to Wise Man, and I may read it a third time, each time discovering something I missed earlier. Rohr writes about the transformation that men, especially, can make by taking a journey inward. It’s about discovering the “truth that sets us free”, becoming our true selves, acknowledging our fears and hurts, becoming a whole person, and becoming one with each other and one with God. 

One of the things I really like about Rohr’s style is that he frequently includes scripture to illustrate a point. For example, in the Three Kinds of Men chapter, Rohr cites the story of Jesus’ healing of a man’s withered hand on the Sabbath (Luke 6:6-11). Here, the scribes and Pharisees represent one kind of man, the diseased man another, and Jesus as the third kind. Each is motivated, right? Or are they? What are their motivations? The man with the withered hand, who is summoned forth, is silent throughout, even after being healed. Is he motivated at all? What kind of fathers would these three men make? And what motivates you? This is about asking questions and seeking answers and about what we might leave behind on our journey. How do we feel afterwards? Has a mentor helped you? And are we born anew in the process?

As Rohr notes early on, “masculine spirituality is not just for men, although it is men who will most likely need to rediscover and exemplify it. Strangely, many women are more in touch with this approach today than men.” This is a book about being honest with oneself and with God, about being free – free to journey, to ask questions, to seek answers, to contemplate, to share, to accept, to trust. Highly recommended. Our library will have a copy.

Reviewed by Ron Yarger

Please join us on Saturday Sept. 14th, from 9am - 10am for the first

men's breakfast of the 2024 -2025 church season.

We will meet at Tom Franklin's home, 34 North Hillside Ave. in Chatham. Come for the good coffee and refreshments,

and stay for the good discussion!

Rally Day, our annual community-building event, is Sunday, September 15th

We will start the day with joyful worship in the sanctuary at 10:00 am. Following the worship service, join us for grilled burgers and hotdogs, and fellowship!

Please bring a side salad and/or a dessert. 

Let’s start the new school year and launch our fall programs with a fun time filled with food, friends, and laughter!

So we can plan accordingly, please RSVP by clicking the button below. Or, if you prefer, a paper sign up sheet is available on the bulletin board outside Jeff's office.

Youth And Kids: Please stop by our table to see Pastor Sharon and register for Sunday School! Make sure you check out the activities and games!

We invite students of all ages (pre-school through graduate school and beyond) as well as educators and school administrators to bring their backpack, briefcase, school bag, etc. to the 10:00 AM worship service on Sunday, September 8th for a moment of blessing to help get the school year off to a great start!

Questions? Contact Associate Pastor Rev. Sharon C. Yarger at scyarger@optonline.net or at the church office.

We hope to see you then!

Chatham United Methodist Church

460 Main Street

Chatham, NJ 07928

(973) 635-7740

Email: info@chathamumc.org