The United Methodist Women of Holland’s UMC will be sponsoring our Annual Craft Sale on Saturday, October 2, 2010 from 8:00am-3:00pm.  Holland’s prides itself on having one of the best craft shows in the area.   People come year after year expecting to see unique, handcrafted items.  We try to eliminate commercialism since we market our event as a craft sale.   Therefore, registration is open to crafters only.

Reservations are accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. It is our goal to have a large variety of unique crafts.  Therefore, we do reserve the right to limit the number of crafters with similar products.   Should your application be declined we will notify you when it is received and return your payment.  If your application is accepted, an acknowledgement postcard will be mailed to you.  Spaces cannot be shared with another vendor.  If you would like to make any special requests (such as next to another vendor, same table as last year, end table, etc), do so on the registration form in the appropriate space.  We will make every effort to accommodate your request but we can not offer a guarantee.

One item that you need to be aware of is the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA).  See the enclosed notice and read about how you can verify that your products meet the new standards for safe products.

If you would like to participate in the 2010 Craft Sale, please return the enclosed Vendor Registration Form with a check payable to the United Methodist Women. Please follow the mailing instructions on the top of the registration form to ensure your application is received in a timely manner.  Fees are listed on the registration form and are non-refundable.  A written confirmation letter will be mailed to you by September 1, 2010.

We hope that you can join us and we look forward to seeing you on October 2, 2010!

Sincerely,

Holland’s United Methodist Women

PS- Please see the Forms Tab at the top of the website for our Craft Sale vendor registration form.  

Holland’s UMC is a caring community

that invites and equips people to follow Jesus.

Dear Holland’s Friends and Family,

Grace and peace to you from God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

I trust this week’s E-Pistle finds your soul doing well as we wind down the summer.  I can hardly believe September is upon us as we approach Labor Day Weekend!

On this coming Sunday, we will continue our sermon series on Lessons from God’s Heroes for Holland’s.  We have learned in recent weeks from Samuel, Joseph and Moses, all giants of the Old Testament.  Now we turn our attention to three giants of our faith from the New Testament.  This week:  Paul: Invest Your Life; followed by Peter: The Really Important Things, and finally, Jesus: Your Toughest Job, Your Deepest Joy.  And that will take us to our Homecoming Sunday to be celebrated on September 26.

So now,  a word about Paul and the lesson we can learn from him.  As you are aware Paul is the person whom God chose to formulate and articulate much of our Christian doctrine.  While the gospels tell us the story of Jesus’ life and ministry, it is Paul who solidifies the foundation of Christianity and challenges followers of Christ to a lifestyle that befits the name Christian.  One of the wonderful epistles that forms our faith is 2 Timothy.  Here, the elderly Paul is taking inventory of his life of discipleship as he instructs, encourages, and empowers young Timothy to continue the work of faith that he has begun. 

On Sunday, the preaching text will be from 2 Timothy 2:1-10; 4:6-8.  In chapter 2, Paul tells us, by use of occupational analogies what some of the characteristics of the Christian life ought to be.  He cites the teacher (2:1), the soldier (2:3), the athlete (2:5), and the farmer (2:6).  Then in chapter 4, the old man Paul, who is now facing his time of departure from the earth, graces the Church of the ages, which includes you and me with his farewell address. 

As I read and pondered these texts in recent days, I was reminded of a story about St. Francis of Assisi.  One day as Francis was hoeing his garden, someone asked what he would do if he were suddenly to learn that he would die before sunset that very day.  The saint replied, “I would finish hoeing my garden.”  So it was with Paul.  Paul knew that this life’s sunset was upon him.  Yet, with faith, he could say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith!” (2 Timothy 4:7).  Paul had been diligent in his calling to plant seeds of faith and to tend what was the spiritual garden of the young church.  Indeed, Paul had invested his life wisely! 

On Sunday we will give some thought to what it means to live faithfully unto our earthly end.  By the way, this is not a sad or tragic story.  It is a glorious story of one who laid a firm foundation for you and me.

Sam Levenson, the comedian, once said, “If you die in an elevator, be sure to press the up button.”  After he met Christ on the Road to Damascus, Paul spent the remainder of his life pressing the up button.  Paul died on the rise and we are better for it!

I hope to see you on Sunday at the abundant LIFE dispensing place,

Blessings,

Pastor Gary

919.772.5294 (office)