Perspectives
by Rev. Robin Roderick

Guess what happened a couple of weeks ago? The 10 billionth — yes, billionth—song was sold on iTunes. In case you don’t know, iTunes is the Apple computer store for music, lectures, educational materials, etc., that can be downloaded into an mp3 player or iPod.

If that sounds like Greek, that's OK. When I saw the headline, I wondered what the song was. (“Please, Lord,” I thought, “don't let it be 'Stairway to Heaven'!”) Drum roll please: "Guess Things Happen That Way" by Johnny Cash was the song. Get this: the purchaser was 71 year old Louie Sulcer from Woodstock, GA.

Seventy-one years old! As a church looking at those we need to reach for Christ, we often make assumptions based on age or other demographics about types of music, types of worship, programming needs or even spiritual depth. Turning to books, often written a decade or more ago, can be dangerous.

With the speed of change we need to be looking at ourselves and our strength every 18 months or so. We need to look at our weaknesses and make corrections. Most of all, we have to keep our ear to the ground around ever shifting expectations and dynamics of culture so we stay fresh as we deliver the ancient and ever new message of the love of Jesus Christ.

After five years as the Senior Pastor, I'm preparing for some intensive time of looking, listening, and re-visioning what our next five years will look like. Watch for opportunities to listen to those who are the best and the brightest at what is being done in ministry--and make no assumptions as to what the future may hold.

Mr. Sulcer won a $10,000.00 gift card to iTunes. That's a lot of music! I thank him for helping me hear the world a little differently today--and inspiring me to learn about my iPod!

Help Requested
by Michael Waller

A couple of weeks ago, I was taking care of a minor repair and someone said, “Well, it is about time. We’ve been complaining about that for weeks.”

My response was, “I just heard about the need for this repair, so if anyone was complaining, they didn’t complain to me.”

Today someone told me about some lighting issues in the back parking lot. She said some lights were not coming on during the evening when the rest are on. She was surprised to learn that this was the first I had heard of it.

I would rather hear about a problem several times than not hear about it. If you are aware of maintenance problems around the church, please let me know. I can’t be everywhere, but you can be my extra eyes and ears to keep things moving forward. If I can’t provide the solution, I can at least give you an idea as to who can.

There is one known outstanding problem that cannot be fixed until the weather improves. That is the roof leak into the Sunday School rooms above the office. Before winter, the roofers inspected the roof, and they could not find the leak. We think it may be occurring under the air conditioning units, but in order to examine that, we need the air conditioning people to remove the covers so that the roofing people can examine those areas of the roof and correct any problems they find. The weather changed before we were able to get the two groups up there. We will schedule this when weather permits. Until then, the roof will leak.

If you wish to report a problem, call the church office at (636) 947-0066 and ask for me, or send me an email at mww1949@sbcglobal.net.

Lenten Family Sunday
by Rev. Debby Bartley

On Sunday, February 21, our children and middle school youth, along with their families, gathered on the 3rd floor of the Education Wing to celebrate the beginning of Lent.

Families were able to spend time together enjoying music, crafts, and a participatory Easter story. I hope you will stop by the bulletin boards on the 3rd floor and by the Sanctuary to look at the morning’s pictures. Crosses made from fabric squares decorated by our families will soon be hanging on walls around the church.

After the Haiti earthquake, I met with the children, and we discussed ways in which we could help. We decided that if families wanted to give up something during Lent, they could save the money they would have been spent on the item or event and make a special offering for Haiti. The offering will be given to the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), ensuring that 100% of the offering will go to Haiti relief efforts. We will collect this special offering during worship services on Easter and the following Sunday.

If your family was unable to attend, please come by the office, and we will be happy to give you the crafts and a Holy Week booklet so that you and your family can enjoy the activities at home! If you would like to participate in the Haiti special offering, again please come by the office and we will give you an envelope. I give thanks for our families, and I invite our congregation to pray daily for our families!