Ownbey Reader - July

1. On July 25, Rev Barbra Barden lead a discussion including  "good" and "rest" mean. In some cases we agreed good is better than supreme, as in "a good man." I took the "rest" comments to mean it is ok to do more of it. Before class,  gave Emily Alyea her medal for being one of the top 12 attendees for the first half of the year. DURWARD OWEN was back in SS. He missed the previous week because, as Reatha had reported 7/20/2010, " he was sore from (another) biking accident.[you may recall that he had an accident while biking w/family members in Va some months ago] After class, CONNIE told some of us about this, saying that it wasn't as severe as the other time.  . . . .So... Durward, we hope you are recuperating nicely.  Take care!"
2. William and Linda Christopher Webb have a new email address.
   Click Here for roster with the new address included. 7/19/2010
3. Email to  Kevin Wright from Don Redding 7/17/2010 
   Kevin, Maybe you could help identify the flags in Jubilee Hall, please.
   I am trying to name all the flags there and there are 5 which  I cannot get. Here are the ones I cannot name:
   
   
   We have been discussing putting the US Flag and the Christian Flag in our Sunday school classroom and some folks object . We have  lots of flags of countries in Jubilee Hall which I understand represent where we have missions. Since we first started discussing flags, I learned about the Christian Flag and also the United Methodist Flag. We have the US Flag in several classrooms, near the sanctuary, hanging in halls, in Jubilee Hall, and in the main Sanctuary (let me know if you do not know where in the Sanctuary).  We have  Christian Flags in some classrooms and near the sanctuary , but I cannot find a United Methodist Flag in our church.  Here is s link to pictures of the flags in Jubilee Hall.
   http://donredding.smugmug.com/02-Church-Sunday-School/MPUMC/20100706-Flags-in-Jubilee-Hall/12834242_BVNQL#925798063_zz34P-A-LB
4. Dear Ownbey Family, Just read in today's OBSERVER that Harlan Creech, III, died yest'y. The service will be tomorrow (Sat the 17th) at 11am at First UMC in Salisbury w/Rev Steve Haines officiating. The family will receive friends at the church following the service. Peace,Reatha - Fri - 11:15am
   
   
   

5. Latest on Harriette 8am 7/16/2010
   Dear Ownbey Family, Perhaps some of you know this already, but I confirmed w/Sydnor III that Harriette, Sydnor and several of the "kids" met w/the Chapel Hill doctor on Wednesday. Surgery was NOT recommended. Now the decision must be made as to radiation/chemo... which might not be helpful anyway. Please continue sending cards and prayers.P eace,Reatha - Fri - 
6. MID JULY UPDATE:  HARRIETTE THOMPSON has a tumor in her upper right jaw.  Surgery was first planned here in town, but was cancelled.  She has been meeting w/specialists in Chapel Hill -- going again Wed the 14th.  We are still waiting to hear the latest.
   EARLY JUNE UPDATE:  JUDY STINSON had a cornea transplant the other week and is progressing slowly, but nicely.
   APRIL 19th UPDATE:  MARTHA and FRED SADRI's son-in-law ROBERT will undergo radiation(?)chemo before the doctors attempt the "whipple" procedure to treat his liver cancer. Reatha 
   
7. The Lesson Schedule for July 25 through October is ready. Check on our Web Site or on the Blog.On the Blog, Links are available if you want to see about the books or buy from Amazon.  xx

8. Here is a schedule mainly for our non email folks who get this by USPS.: *=change
   Date,  Book,  Author,  Teacher (Click Links for Info on the Books or author)
   July 18, 2010,       The Case For God , Karen Armstrong, Ace Walker
   July 25, 2010,       Longing For Enough    , ?, Barbara Barden
   August 01, 2010, The Bible Jesus Read  Chapter On Moses , Philip Yancey, Carol Douglas
   *August 08, 2010, Change to *Fatal Embrace: Christians, Jews, and the Search for Peace in the Holy Land FROM Preparing for Peace: Conflict Transformation Across Cultures, JP Lederach, Don Hammer
   August 15, 2010, Practical Justice: Living Off-Center in a Self-Centered World , K Blue, Willard Gourley
   August 22, 2010, Locked Up: Letters and Papers of a Prisoner of Conscience , Don Beisswenger , Chick Thompson
   *August 29, 2010, Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul , JP Moreland , Jim Hatfield
   September 05, 2010, A New Identity:  Part Of Lectionary Series: , Seasons Of The Spirit, Reatha Andrew
   September 12, 2010, A Ben Witherington ,  , Durward Owen
   September 19, 2010, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther , Roland Bainton, Sydnor Thompson
   September 26, 2010, Tba  ,  , Cal Chesson
   October 03, 2010, Einstein: His Life and Universe, W Isaacson , Class Member Panel
   October 10, 2010, Bonhoeffer  , E Metaxas, Lou Bledsoe
   October 17, 2010, Bonhoeffer Pt 2 , E Metaxas, Gaston Gage
9. New Directories are the Lobby of the Parish Life Building. The quality of  photographs and printing is outstanding. I encouraged  our staff (and spoke with the company) to include more than one telephone number and email addresses, but no luck, although the company rep once told me we would have email addresses this time, oooops! I have been working to get the email  addresses in for for the last three directories.Also, I push for including pictures, addresses, and emails on the internet (with security of password). Other churches include various info on the Internet and as big and advanced as MPUMC is, I wish we did too. My small hometown church in Asheboro has the full directory on line  (with no password). I made photos of the picture pages in the directory; if you want to see, they are at Smugmug. Good for remembering folks when the directory is not close by. Click Here.
10. I notice the Administrative Board and Charge Conference is 7/20. I hope Ownbey is represented as it is about the only way to learn some things behind the scenes at MPUMC. We will vote on incorporating the Wesley Fund, something probably needed for years. Also I look forward to the financial reports and the status of the renovation. Perhaps James will share comments on Annual Conference. Be there if you can.
11. What a fine lesson last Sunday 7/11 from the  Honorable S . . .. Did a good job discussing  parts of the literal  Bible debate. As a test of my skills, I recorded the session and will have a link here  in a few days, oh here it is. (Click here) and then on the mp4 file in the description near the top. At one time I recoded all the sessions, but I am out of practice; this was an attempt to get back up to speed and my sound recording was not good, sorry. I will get better.
12. And was it not a thrill to see our beloved H . . . playing the piano and sharing her athletic adventures with us. What an inspiration she and S . . .  are.  By example, they show me the attitude I should have to handle what I sometimes overstate are my problems.
13. It was inspiring to hear C . . . . tell of her upcoming trip that day to the Baptist Church which our Helping Hands fund check. We do a lot of good with that program and thank T . . .  for his leadership. With the rewards for visiting the Blogs, we have used the Helping Hands  system for recognizing people as in honor of. Also may be used as in memory of. Ask M . . .  forms, or T . . . .
14. Speaking of the rewards, we have 4 winners (only) in the visit the Blog contest. What a disappointment (at least to yours truly) we have no more interest than that - with so few folks visiting or noticing the offer - or maybe it is the lack of ability to use it. Or maybe they did not read the instructions, as someone recently admitted. You have to tell me and one way is to leave a "comment"  at bottom of any Blog entry.
15. Remember the offer of $50 for saying books of Bible is still open. Here are the winners so far.
16. This Reader, as we call it to distinguish from The MESSAGE, will be sent to our non-email members and others twice a month (perhaps!).  I am concerned  we do not stay in touch with our non-email friends enough with communications, and this is my attempt to  help.  I irregularly have sent info by USPS. I will try to be more diligent now. Also it is a start in writing about class activities. Let me know if you have suggestions  to add or remove. If you do not want to read it, fine.  The ease and lack of expense of using a blog  encourage  me to do it. R . . .  does the Official Ownbey Web site so check there and the Church site often for news and lesson schedules, etc. Since the space on this Blog is free, we can use more cheaply than the church can buy space ( when the church took over the class sites once and destroyed years of our work,  space was the reason they gave. Of course that did not work and it came back to the classes but in the meantime most classes just backed out of doing any  internet  work) . Further W . . .  should be in shape soon to communicate with his new computer and after retirement. I will continue to help the officers when I can, but I will put some thoughts on the Blog here also.Here is a link to the Readers I did in 2003, the Musings by  Bill Pearce from 2004, and the 2008-09 emails from the Chessons. Clickit! here
17. Also, Linda helped me realize, by the response to her request to the class ,one of the reason folks were not going to the Blog was  they did not know how or know how to click, double click, select, copy, etc. I guess members felt more comfortable telling her than telling me (sorry), so that was good. I have had and  repeat I have a standing offer to come to your computer and help with this computer/internet mystery if you want. I have done this with some members and we see progress. I do not know how to say it  more clearly or sincerely that I want to help than what I have said in the past, except I have decided just to use this blog for  making you  aware of my desire to be of assistance.
18. I developed a quiz I thought was self teaching as the last answer listed was always correct. Some of our non  class member friends catch on before I tell them about 25% of the way through it.  It was prominent on the Blog a while as I was working on it, but I moved it. Some non-class member friends had  major suggestions,  and I am revising the blog to make it clearer. I am creating another one as  lecture notes instead of a quiz.  I did several  quizzes several years ago thta are more difficult, and I now have them available. Here are the links to the quizzes, but remember they are not prime-time yet.
19. Some of you might be interested in Galleries of pictures from the Church I am creating. They  include the Flag one you saw before and new Galleries including the Apostles/Disciple pictures in the hall outside the sanctuary. and others . .links later . . .
20. Here are some of the links to Galleries, more later (Clickit!).
21. I have a Gallery of all MPUMC main ministers back to the beginning of time with information on them. It is under development and if you have more info on some of the Ministers, let me have it to add.                                                    
22. S . . .  reminded me Sunday of references in his book, S. K.A, to several of our ministers including Dr Ownbey and Dr Herbert. It led me to re reading his book and it is great fun  reading if you have not or want a refresher. I forgot if I ever knew, S . . .  was the lawyer for Bruton Smith and Curtiss Turner at the start of their endeavor. If you do not know what that endeavor was, you have not been reading the local sports page for the last 50 years. Also he helped save the Charlotte Symphony once when it actually quit for several months, he came on the Board and then next year  was the Chairman for three years as it got on his feet again. It also has some of the funny stories his brother told us several weeks ago about his singing career and his acting career when he announced to an audience there was a light bulb in the manger where he expected Baby Jesus.
23. Congratulations to the VIA's,  the Very Important Attendees, all dozen of you who were recognized with a championship Blue Ribbon. : You were all good sports for my foolishness, as some of you might call it.Pictures here Hope you looked over the Attendance records recently and identified either that we are missing you too often or that there are folks you need to be sure know they are missed. 
24. I finished a book on Lincoln recently.xxxx I remember hearing Dixie was one of his favorite tunes. I found the proof/reference in the book, Team of Rivals. I like Dixie too. I have a recording of it on line and will share with anyone interested . The music is beautiful. By the way, I hope you checked the words I provided earlier for the Star Spangled Banner. Can you believe how terrible the words are in the third verse (I think it is); no wonder we never hear them.
25. Later,  I will list links to some  Galleries, etc. mentioned above as I finish editing .
26. Feel free to add comments below. Thanks. Based on suggestions, I have fixed it so any one can leave a comment without signing in. I still will see and ok to be sure some crazy does not mess us up. Thanks.
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