Once again I had the privilege of representing Preston Hollow U.M.C. at Annual Conference, which concluded with the reappointment of Rev. Ken Hildebrand to serve as our pastor for another year.

We were provided with the usual reports regarding our Conference’s activities both in the United States and in other lands; however, the most important focus was on the new organization of our Conference as designed by the Strategic Planning Team (SPT), a group selected by Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe and affirmed by the 2009 Annual Conference. The purpose of the Strategic Planning Team was to better accomplish our mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

During two years of holy conferencing, the SPT agreed that four strategic changes will be needed. They are as follows:

1. Establish the four areas of focus of the United Methodist Church as the strategic priorities of the North Texas Conference.
2. Re-vision the role of the District Superintendents and reduce the number of districts of the North Texas Conference.
3. Streamline and realign the conference structure and staffing to address these priorities most effectively.
4. Realign our financial resources to reflect these priorities.

The four areas of focus of the United Methodist Church according to the Strategic Plan are:

1. Developing principled Christian leaders for the church and the world
2. Creating new places for people by starting new churches and renewing existing ones
3. Engaging in ministry with the poor
4. Combating the diseases of poverty by improving health globally

I want to share a story that has been around for a long time. But I think it is very appropriate during what looks to be developing into a hot summer.

Wishing to encourage her young son’s progress on the piano, a mother took her boy to a concert of the great piano master Paderewski. After they were seated, the mother spotted a friend in the audience. Knowing that there was ample time before the concert began, she walked down the aisle to greet her friend.

Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of the concert hall, the little boy soon wandered away from his seat and eventually made his way through a door marked, “NO ADMITTANCE.”

When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her seat to discover that her child was missing. Suddenly the curtains parted and the spotlights focused on the impressive Steinway piano on stage. To her horror, the mother saw her little boy sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. At that moment, the great piano master made his entrance and quickly moved to the piano. Without the slightest sense of trepidation he whispered in the little boy’s ear, “Don’t quit, keep playing.” Then Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in the bass part. Soon his right arm reached around the other side of the child and added a running obbligato. The audience was mesmerized. Together, the old master and the young novice transformed a potentially frightening situation into a wonderfully creative experience.

Though I have never read how the little boy got back to his mother, I would suspect that having been in the arms of the master, he always had a special love for the piano.

Whatever our situation in life, whatever dry spell of the spirit, whatever dark night of the soul, God is whispering deep inside us, “Don’t quit, keep playing, you’re not alone.” As we see all our shortcomings, isn’t it encouraging to know that our Master is working with us to make our lives complete!

Will I see you in church this Sunday? I hope so. May God bless your week.

Ken Hildebrand

The following article has been copied from the North Texas Reporter and edited. It illustrates what one person who saw a need, did, and then what developed. Consider how our Child Development Center is our Sunday School except that it meets Monday-Friday, not on Sunday.

Sarah Falter knew she had to make a change when her pastor mentioned Moses and her young son had no idea who he was. “I was feeling really disappointed in myself because my children didn’t know all the Bible stories I was brought up with and I knew at their age,” she said.

What her children needed, Ms. Falter decided, was Sunday school. However, her tiny country church in central Missouri did not have space for a children’s class on Sunday mornings. Her pastor, the Rev. Karen Alden, offered a solution: Move it up a day.

Now, under Ms. Falter’s leadership, Rader United Methodist Church holds “Saturday School” from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. once a month, usually in the sanctuary. The school attracts eight or nine youngsters, ranging in age from 4 to the young teens.

Saturday School is the kind of innovation more United Methodist congregations should consider, said retired Bishop Richard Wilke, who developed the Disciple Bible Study program.

“The way you reach people today—children, youth and adults—is in intimate relationships studying the Scriptures,” Bishop Wilke said. “Sunday is no longer a holy day. Study life has to take place where people are.”

And that can be any place on any day of the week.

One thing is certain, Bishop Wilke noted: Biblical instruction needs to be more widespread.

In recent years, talk show host Jay Leno has made sport of Americans who can name the four Beatles but not the four Gospels, and comic Stephen Colbert has teased members of Congress who want publicly to display the Ten Commandments but cannot name them.

Bishop Wilke started Disciple Bible Study more than 20 years ago because he saw a thirst for more Christian education, especially among adults. The program now has more than 2 million graduates in 10,000 congregations in 30 denominations.

Most successful groups consist of eight to 10 people, he said, and like the early Christians, the groups often meet in people’s homes. “People thought it would be a fad,” said Bishop Wilke, now the bishop-in-residence at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kan. “What people are finding is that the Bible doesn’t have a fade-out time and the small-group format doesn’t have a fade-out time.”

Ms. Alden, pastor of Rader United Methodist Church, said Saturday School has been a hit with all ages in her congregation.

The church, with a weekly attendance of about 35, has started attracting young families in recent years. One reason Ms. Alden wanted to move religious instruction to Saturday was so she would not disturb the fellowship of older members who gather in the church an hour before worship at 9 a.m. each Sunday. “I think it’s a really important part of their week to have that social time because many live alone,” Ms. Alden said. Now many of those older members volunteer each month to provide lunch after the Bible lessons.

The church held its first Saturday class in December with lessons and activities based around Jesus’ nativity. In March, Ms. Falter taught the youngsters how to tell the story of Easter with “resurrection eggs”—plastic eggs containing symbols of Jesus’ crucifixion and Resurrection, such as toothpicks for the crown of thorns and a pebble for the rock that was rolled away from the tomb.

Since April, Ms. Falter has decided to cover the Bible from the beginning, starting with the story of creation, and moving on to Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel. Her 6-year-old son Isaac and her 8-year-old daughter Faith now tell their grandmas about the Bible lessons they have learned. Faith also has been inviting her friends to join the class.

“They haven’t been able to make it yet, but she’s gung-ho that her cousin needs to come and her friend down the street needs to come because it’s a lot of fun,” Ms. Falter said. “She’s pretty pumped.” And so is the church.

The most important part about studying Scripture is that it leads people to Christ, Bishop Wilke said. “We study the whole Bible to find the Savior,” he said.

By Heather Hahn
United Methodist News Service
Editing & Emphasis By Lonnie Moore, Lay Leader

By Martha Harris

Lap Robe Group
The Preston Hollow UMW Lap Robe Group will meet Wednesday, July 7, at 10:30 in the Brides Room. We make items to donate to Scottish Rite Children's Hospital and Wesley Rankin Community Center. Baby items are also given to Methodist Hospital. Please join us for this mission work as we enjoy our fellowship together. Bring your UMW World Thank You box collections to turn in for 2010.

Our Youth just got back from a mission trip to New Orleans, Louisiana. I know many of you are curious and eager to find out how we were able to serve in the community of New Orleans. I have already had the questions: How many people went? What did you build? Did you have fun? So here is a bit of information about the trip.

We played a small part in a very big picture. The organization YouthWorks will be in New Orleans for a total of ten weeks this summer and host over 500 students serving the community, as well as other locations all over America. YouthWorks looks at each mission site individually to determine areas of greatest need, which range from light construction to visiting nursing homes. The greatest need in New Orleans was relational ministry. Many in the community have gone through more troubles in the past five years (since Katrina) than you or I would in a lifetime. The people are sad, scared, tired, and proud. Post Katrina New Orleans has recovered quite a bit since the storm in many ways. Those that struggle the most are the young people. Many children have spent most of their lives in a post Katrina New Orleans, where law enforcement and schools are minimally present. Black on black, poor on poor and young on young crimes have established a pattern of hatred and mistrust among the young people. The media has painted a very dark picture of New Orleans that truly does exist. In certain neighborhoods, you are treated as an adult simply by reaching the age of sixteen. For these reasons, our students were partnered with ongoing ministries and outreaches in order to provide a more stable and sustainable help to the people deeply in need.

The youth of Preston Hollow UMC worked specifically with a youth outreach ministry called APEX in putting on a free day camp for children between the ages of five and thirteen. Each day 100 children would come to APEX for a place to stay safe, and to stay cool, and simply have something to do. The people at APEX know and understand those reasons why the children come yet also do their best to present the gospel, basic morality, and God’s Love to these children. They are doing a great job! Statistics show that by the end of the summer, some of these children would have lost their lives or been seriously injured by gun violence. However, not a single child who attends APEX has found themselves in the path of a bullet.

This mission trip was not easy. Anyone can paint or roof a house with the right tools, but our students built something far more difficult. We built relationships, we planted seeds of hope among the hopeless, and showed love to the proud, angry, and broken.

Some would say that seeing all the devastation that still exists in New Orleans, either in the buildings or the people, is “eye opening,” but I disagree. When we see or hear about the negative things it is easy for that to be our focus; it often becomes all we see and drains our spirit. Parts of the trip were draining and saddening. The “eye opening” comes when you see more than despair and destruction. In the bigger picture, you see change. In the bigger picture, you see progress. The French quarter and Jackson Square are alive and well with tourism, and it is truly a fun place to be. Lake Pontchatrain is filled with great fish and provides a perfect backdrop for a community BBQ at sunset. When your eyes are truly opened to New Orleans, you see that the progress, the hope for tomorrow is aided by the young people. I met a young man named Shelby Ratliff, who grew up in the 3rd ward and is now attending Tulane University. Shelby will be playing wide receiver on the football team, at Tulane while also fighting for the improvement of his community every day. This young man works as the activities coordinator at APEX, He is respected by the teenagers of the 3rd ward because he went trough what they went through. When he talks, they listen. Through his work, many teens have also been inspired to volunteer their time, not only keeping themselves out of harms way but also working to protect their families and friends so that every single day will bring a brighter tomorrow in New Orleans.

Hard work and good decisions by those in the community are necessary for New Orleans to become better than ever before. I have no doubt, after meeting the people, that New Orleans will more than fully recover from the impact the storms have had. With the help of Jesus, and the seeds that are planted by not only our youth but all the work of all the churches combined, there will be new and bright hope for tomorrow. Helping those in need is never the easiest thing to do but I am definitely thankful to have served with our youth in the city of New Orleans.

Jacob Fields

Hellooo Preston Hollow UMC!

On behalf of the choir, I want to extend a hearty THANK YOU SO MUCH for your support for the music ministry. Organized by the fabulous Jill Johnson-Scott, our Southern Living fundraiser and generous contributions raised $775 dollars for the choir fund! The money made from this fundraiser, along with the Independance Day Celebration on July 1st, will allow the choir to hire section leaders, buy new instruments, and present new music. Thank you again for your generosity and support.

Peace in Christ,
Jordan Stewart

The Lord has blessed us all this year in spite of all the economic difficulties and news that we hear almost on a daily basis. As we move forward in the summer, it is very possible that many of you will be absent on vacations and visiting families and friends. Let me encourage you to "DROP OFF YOUR OFFERING" before you leave for vacation. This would be a big help to the life of the church.

To assist you with this, we are now able to take credit cards for your tithes and offerings. We offer Master Card, Visa, and Discover. Many of you would prefer to use your debit cards or your credit cards to receive air miles, money at the end of the year, or some other bonus. We are here to assist you with this interest. Just call the church office, let us get your Credit Card information, we will run your card according to your wishes, and the amount given will show up on your contribution statements.

If you have any further questions regarding all this, please call me at 214-213-7138 or e-mail me direct at bhargrave1@aol.com Thank you all so very much for your love of Christ and His church and your faithfulness in your giving to support and sustain the church's missions and ministries.

Blessings,
Bruce Hargrave