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St Patrick's Life Still Translates
1. Human Trafficking: St Patrick was kidnapped from his home in Britain by Irish pirates at the age of 16, and worked as a slave for 6 years, herding sheep until he managed to escape.
2. Suffering turns into a Calling:Despite the fact that St. Patrick was forced into slavery in Ireland, he followed the call of the Holy Spirit to return to Ireland and share the Good News of Christ in the same land where he had once been in bondage.
3. Prayer: St. Patrick was known for his devotion to prayer. Some legends claim that he prayed hundreds of times a day. He was constantly seeking guidance and strength from God.
4. Spiritual Metaphors Abound: According to legend, St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity to the Irish people. He pointed to the three leaves of the shamrock and explained that, like the three leaves, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct entities but are also One, just as the three leaves are part of the same plant. Another story tells how Patrick superimposed the Christian cross on the popular Celtic ring symbol, which stood for the sun or the world, to demonstrate Jesus' redemption of the world. He thus created the Celtic cross that many churches and others continue to use.
As John Wesley would some 1,300 years later, Patrick combined evangelical zeal with social teaching. Patrick was one of the first well-known Europeans to stand publicly against slavery. So it would seem that much of St. Patrick’s fourth century legendary life and ministry continues to offer lessons and examples for how God can utilize the various aspects of our experiences, along with our ordinary surroundings, as we reach out in Christian love to the modern day world in our communities.
On the way there,
Pastor Adam
PS. AccessAbility Campaign Update: Over the next couple of weeks, you will be receiving a phone call from our AccessAbility Campaign Prayer Team. This call will not be asking for a pledge or financial commitment! It is a call seeking the prayer support of the entire congregation for God's provision and direction in making West Side accessible for all! We will also be asking if you have any personal prayer concerns that you would like prayed for by our team and pastoral staff. Thank you in advance for ungirding our AccessAbility vision with prayer and God's power!
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We had a great visit at Camp Lake Louise for the Youth Winter Retreat with First UMC. Students enjoyed some snow, participating in prayer stations, worship, and building community with one another. Enjoy the pics!
EASTER EGG HUNT VOLUNTEERS NEEDED It's time to prepare for the Easter Egg Hunt Extravaganza on Saturday, March 30th, from 10am-Noon! Click here to sign up for a volunteer slot. Please help us spread the word by personally inviting neighbors with little ones, friends, family members, etc. A personal invite is the most effective outreach. Join me in praying over this event as an opportunity for families with little ones to find a church home here.
I would like to have baby chicks at the egg hunt and am looking for their forever home. Let me know if you can help!
CHILDREN'S CHURCH VOLUNTEERS NEEDED We need your help making Sunday School happen! Please sign up here to help teach or assist with the elementary class or hang out in the nursery on Sunday. Preferably, volunteers help once a month, but if that's not an option for you, no worries! All volunteers are required to have a background check.
SUMMER CAMP Did you know your kids can attend a Methodist summer camp for free? We have scholarships available and would love to help give students (elementary and high school) an opportunity to go to camp. Check out UMC Camps here! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or want help registering your child.
Samantha Tidball
Associate Pastor
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Leaf Cleanup
Thank you!! Last week's note asking for help with leaf cleanup resulted with many leaves in the dumpster. The project has been completed.
Blessings,
Doug Brewer
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Easter Lily Donations
Help celebrate loved ones by contributing toward the cost of Easter lilies that
decorate our sanctuary. Any funds raised beyond the cost of the plants will be
used for our Pastor’s Emergency Fund to help families and individuals with
food, transportation, shelter, and other issues.
Please order here or on the forms in the welcome center and office.
If paying by check, please make your check payable to West Side UMC with
“Lilies” in the memo line. If you pay by check, each lily is $15.
Deadline for payment and order is NOON on Monday, March 25, 2024.
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IHN at Alpha House News
Spring is definitely a fresh, new season at Alpha House!
Because of grants from MDHSS and the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners, Alpha House was able to add 8 new rooms by renovating the administration wing at the Jackson Road location. The Ann Arbor News published a story about the renovations at Alpha House. You can read the article here . You are invited to an open house to be held on Thursday, April 4, from 2 – 7 pm so that you can have the opportunity to see the new wing before it is opened to new residents. We are also inviting all of our community partners and key supporters and will have refreshments available. We hope it will be a fun event for all!
Also, in anticipation of more families moving in, Westside was able to donate $1,000 toward the purchase of a new industrial size refrigerator. Our congregation has been such a huge supporter of Alpha House through the years. And, thanks to you, Alpha House will be able to add more rooms to the only family shelter in Washtenaw County. Thank you for all you do!
Westside’s Volunteer week is coming in May. Please watch for details in April on how you can help!
Any questions, please call, text or email me, Ann Andraska at: yellowstonefun4@gmail.com or 734-751-7456.
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Get ready for another wild ride with some very interesting women of the Bible. We will begin this adventure on Wednesday, March 27th at 10:30 AM and finish the book on Wednesday, May 15th. We
gather around the fire place in the hospitality area and study a different woman each week. If you have to miss a session, that’s ok.
This class is an 8 week class filled with laughter and discovery. It’s very informal and the discussions are lively. If you ever thought you might like to try a Bible study, but were afraid, thinking you didn’t know enough or you don’t have time for a lot of homework, this is the study for you!
The book is available on Amazon for around $13 and I have found 4 used books that I have put in the office. They are free to the first 4 people who want one. Please call Betsy Doepken (317-437-0971) to have any questions answered.
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NEW Facebook Page
Our new Facebook page is live! Like us to be updated on what's going on around at West Side.
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Prayer Concerns
If you would like to include a prayer concern to be listed in this section of our Weekly email, please email the church office with the name, and if you would like, you may add a brief description, eg. surgery, cancer diagnosis, death in the family, etc. This concern will be listed for 8 weeks. You can request the office to leave the name on the list for a longer period as well.
Braima Turay (brother of Susan Pieh)
Sympathy
Terry Horning (brother-in-law of Vanessa Horning)
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West Side Bookworms
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The West Side Bookworms will be meeting on Thursday, April 4th at 10am. Please join us around the fireplace to discuss The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni. Need a copy? Call Betsy Doepken at 317-374-0971
Apr. 4 The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni
May 2 The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
June 6 Throwaway Children by Diney Costeloe
NO MEETING JULY 4
Aug. 8 The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck
Sept. 5 The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
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West Side Reads
Our April, 2024 book will be: How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith.
Goodreads summary: “Beginning in his own hometown of New Orleans, Clint Smith leads the reader through an unforgettable tour of monuments and landmarks-those that are honest about the past and those that are not-that offer an intergenerational story of how slavery has been central in shaping our nation's collective history, and ourselves.”
This book is available on Audible, Kindle, new in hardback through Thrift Books on-line or Amazon, local bookstores in Ann Arbor and through Ann Arbor District Library.
Because we have Westside friends that are no longer in Ann Arbor, we will continue to have our discussions via zoom. Please join us on ZOOM in April as we continue reading and learning about Social Justice in our world.
Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/82801441457
Meeting ID: 828 0144 1457
If you have any questions at all, please contact Cindy Heflin Pelo at heflincl@gmail.com or Ann Andraska at yellowstonefun4@gmail.com
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Library Book of the Week
Ardent, gregarious British naval officer Jack Aubrey is elated to be given his first appointment as commander: the fourteen-gun ship HMS Sophie. Meanwhile—after a heated first encounter that nearly comes to a duel—Aubrey and a brilliant but down-on-his-luck physician, Stephen Maturin, strike up an unlikely rapport. On a whim, Aubrey invites Maturin to join his crew as the Sophie’s surgeon. And so begins the legendary friendship that anchors this beloved saga set against the thrilling backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars.
Through every ensuing adventure on which Aubrey and Maturin embark, from the witty parley of their lovers and enemies to the roar of broadsides as great ships close in battle around them, O’Brian “provides endlessly varying shocks and surprises—comic, grim, farcical and tragic.… [A] whole, solidly living world for the imagination to inhabit” (A. S. Byatt).
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Crafty Christians
Bring yourself, a craft or a coloring page for a fun time! We meet Fridays from 11am-1pm. All are welcomed for fellowship and laughter. Please contact Judy Smith with any questions.
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March
Community Offering:
The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)
The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) works to alleviate suffering and serve as a source of help and hope for those impacted by natural or human-caused disasters around the world. UMCOR uses 100% of dedicated gifts in direct support of relief efforts. In order to help enable this feat, our March community outreach offering will join with similar offerings being collected around the world in support of UMCOR's operating expenses. This offering helps to "keep the lights on" at UMCOR so that other donations sent throughout the year can go straight to where they are needed most.
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In Memoriam
Frank J. Siller
April 30, 1930 - September 2, 2022
Nancy Brewer
January 14, 1944 - September 2, 2022
Judith Oakes Fraleigh
November 21, 1935 - January 18, 2023
Edith Laura Semark
August 18, 1934 - February 3, 2023
Trenna Elizabeth Garner
January 8, 1935 - January 14, 2023
Carol Kreischer
December 28, 1930 - February 25, 2023
Joyce Weldon Clark
September 28, 1935 - February 27, 2023
Richard "Rip" Kinney
March 17, 1934 - April 21, 2023
Graham Robert Putnam
April 11, 1947 - October 31, 2023
Stephen Lacoe
February 10, 1936 - February 15, 2024
Marguerite Fisher
November 21, 1923 - February 16, 2024
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Giving Generously & Virtually
If you are able to, please consider giving virtually in the upcoming weeks by visiting our giving tab from our website here, or using our text-to-give function (instructions on how to do this can be found here). Thanks for all that you do to support the West Side family!
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Pastor
Adam Bissell
adam@westside-umc.org
Associate Pastor
Samantha Tidball
samantha@westside-umc.org
Director of Music Ministries
Jacob Carroll
jacob@westside-umc.org |
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Office Manager
Lisa Mayne
westside@westside-umc.org
Church Office Hours - Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 10am-2pm
900 S. Seventh St
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
734-663-4164 |
This is what the Lord says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.
-Jeremiah 6:16a
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