Dear Friends,

Any day now, you'll be receiving your "economic stimulus rebate," which the federal government hopes you will spend on more stuff.  Stuff you may not need or stuff that contributes to further degradation of the Earth.  With this Friday Message, I'm inviting you to consider donating 10% of your "economic stimulus rebate" to Minnetonka United Methodist Church instead, as an alternative to more consumption -- an alternative to more stuff.

Have you ever wondered about the basics of the United Methodist Church?  If so, you may be interested in participating on one or more of the following United Methodist Summer School offerings.  Each class will be offered twice, from 12 noon to 1:30 pm ( participants are encouraged to bring their own brown bag lunch) and from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm.

    Thursday, June 12 -- United Methodist Church History (12 noon and 7:00pm)

    Thursday, June 26 -- United Methodist Church Structure & Organization (12 noon and 7:00pm)

    Thursday, August 7 -- United Methodism: The Wesleyan Quadrilateral (12 noon and 7:00pm)

    Thursday, August 28 -- United Methodist Social Principles (12 noon and 7:00pm)

Mark your calendar now!

May 11 is PENTECOST SUNDAY.  You are encouraged to wear red, orange, and yellow as we celebrate the birthday of the church!  Also this Sunday is Mother's Day, a.k.a. Festival of the Christian Home.  (Don't forget to call Mom.)  It is my understanding that this weekend is the opening of fishing season in Minnesota as well.  Can someone help me understand how all this is supposed to fit together?

Lectionary Readings for Sunday, May 11, are:

    Acts 2:1-21 (I'll use this for a sermon entitled "Holy Ghost Writers.")

    Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

    1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

    John 7:37-39

Lectionary Readings for Sunday, May 18, Peace with Justice Sunday, are:

    Genesis 1:1--2:4a

    Psalm 8

    2 Corinthians 13:11-13

    Matthew 28:16-20

Thursday, May 15 is the new Trustee Clean up Day.  Come one, come all and join the Trustees and the Garden Club as they work on the church ground.  The time is 5 – 8 pm and hotdogs and marshmallows will be available around the fire pit.

On Sunday, August 3, we are going to try a very ambitious experiment.  We need all of you to help!  On that day, rain or shine, Minnetonka UMC will have a Walk/Bike/Carpool-to-Church Green Sunday!  We are planning a brunch after worship.  Resources about greening our planet and helping our environment will be available as will information about fairly traded items.  We're trying to figure out the liturgical process for a "blessing of the bikes."  Obviously, this will be somewhat of an unusual Sunday...maybe even unusual enough to get some media coverage!  I want you to know about it now so you can begin to make plans for walking, biking, or carpooling.  For carpools, we would like to encourage drivers to fill as many seats as possible in their vehicle.  Now is the time to invite family and friends to join you on August 3.  If you know that church is too far for you to walk or bike, try to work out carpooling with those who live near you and who live along the route you drive to church.  We want to fill the sanctuary with as many people as possible while keeping the number of cars in the parking lot to a minimum.  Plan now to help make this Walk/Bike/Carpool-to-Church Green Sunday a success!

I encourage you to register your children or grandchildren for Vacation Bible School (June 16-20) if you have not already done so.  There is a special ALL-CHURCH Picnic and Program for VBS on Tuesday evening, June 17, 6:00pm.

Even though we will have only one worship service at 9:30am from June 8 through August 31, we are not "shutting down" here at Minnetonka United Methodist Church.  Make participation in worship and church events a priority this week and throughout the months of spring and summer.

Keep the faith,

Ken