Girdwood Chapel Receives Major Gift

Copy of article appearing in the January 29th issue of the
Alaska  United Methodist Conference e-newsletter (Aurora)

Mona Blackburn will be visiting our church on March 3rd for the 10 am service. We would like to have a breakfast potluck between services, if she can make it that early. If she cannot we will have a potluck after the
10 am service. Please come to this potluck & service to thank Mrs. Blackburn for her generous gift to Girdwood Chapel!

James 5:17

"Pray for one another, that you may be healed." 

Every Sunday morning at Girdwood Chapel, we set aside some time to share joys and concerns with one another.  But what about those praise & prayer concerns that arise during the week? MAYBE they can wait until Sunday ... MAYBE not.  

Thanks to the Internet, we can share our joys and concerns with each other quickly in the following ways:

• select the "pray" button found at the top of this page and follow the link to our church e-mail address.  Your message will be quickly redirected to praying friends of the Chapel.

• use the "comment" box at the bottom of the "pray" page to post the information to anyone who views this page.

• if you are a Facebook member, "like" Girdwood Chapel (if you haven't already done so) and post your information there.  If you are not a member of Facebook, it's very easy to join.  (The link is found on the righthand column of this page under "Internet Links.")

Communication (updated)

Are you "In the Know"?

As you may have noticed, we're in a state of "transition" for the next few months as we await the appointment of a new pastor to Girdwood Chapel.  One of our goals during this time is for our church "family" to grow closer together.  

One way we can fulfill our mission ("love God, love others, change the world") is to communicate with one another.  As the Body of Christ, the left hand needs to know what the right hand is doing.  So we're stepping up the effort to become better informed / involved with one another through the use of this website, Facebook, e-mail messages and "listening to you" through an all-church survey (found on this website and as an insert in the church bulletin).

To date, we've received just eight (8) responses to the survey.  Seven e-mails to the church family  have been returned as undeliverable ("user unknown").  Telephone calls asking for corrections to the church directory have not been returned.

Please help us help you to be fully informed of what's happening at Girdwood Chapel.  There are some great days ahead of us as we prepare for the arrival of a new pastor in July.  This website will be updated frequently; email messages will be sent.  Phone calls will be made, as necessary.  So help us help you stay "in the know" by keeping our church directory information current.  Check in with us on Facebook.  Leave a comment on this website.  Thank you, in advance, for keeping in touch.

1/26/13 - Prayer Request UPDATE

Dear praying friends from Girdwood Chapel,

Thank you, first of all, for remembering Ron Myers (husband of our interim pastor, Linda Jean Myers) in your prayers as he underwent surgery on Thursday.  Late that night, Linda Jean posted her thanks to everyone on the church Facebook page:

Linda Jean Picht Myers

Thank you ALL so very much for your prayers, thoughts and concerns. Early this evening, the surgeon called after Ron's surgery to let me know that it all went well. The infection wasn't all the way through his leg. All in all, it was really the best case scenario. I spoke with Ron a short while ago and he wanted me to repeat what Dr. Thomas had told me. Praying he has a restful sleep tonight!

Great news, right?  But, what I neglected to do was to contact you folks who do NOT access Facebook with that ANSWER to prayer.  It took a phone call from a concerned pray-er to jar my memory banks and hurry to the computer now to THANK YOU for praying.  I apologize that it took two days to do that.  (I'm sorta new at helping to run a website and need to do a better job!)

Hope to see you in church tomorrow!

dm (Duane Magoon)

HERE IS THE ORIGINAL PRAYER REQUEST FROM THURSDAY 1/24/13:

As you may recall, our interim pastor (Linda Jean Myers) is married to Ron Myers, pastor of First UMC in Anchorage.  On December 9th, he was involved in a head-on collision on the Seward Highway, just north of Girdwood.  He had to be extricated from the vehicle and was transported to a hospital in Anchorage for treatment.  He suffered from a dislocated leg as well as a shattered knee and femur on his other leg.

Linda Jean just sent me this update:

"My husband went back to the hospital yesterday (Wednesday) to see his surgeon.  He has had an infection in his leg this past week and even though he was hooked up with an IV drip with antibiotics, it hasn't gone away.  Today (Thursday the 23rd) he will undergo surgery to see how  much the infection has spread.  So, as you might imagine, I'm not thinking all that clearly."

Obviously, this is a difficult time for Linda Jean, as a mother, a wife, and a pastor to Girdwood Chapel.  Thank you for standing with the Myers family with your prayers and support.  

You can e-mail your encouragement to Linda Jean directly at:

ljpmyers@yahoo.com

dm

Survey Says ...

You might recall the famous line from the TV show "Family Feud" which features families guessing answers to questions asked by the producers of the studio audience.  Contestants guess the top answers and the moderator responds by saying, "and the survey says ...."

One the goals of the Lay Ministry Committee is to help "engage" people in the life of Girdwood Chapel.  Soon we will be seeking your input regarding past/present/future activities of the church.  We want to know what YOU say (think) about what we do here at Girdwood Chapel.  It won't take much time to fill out.

Please prayerfully consider which activities you support.  Which one(s) would you attend? help with? lead?  Feel free to add to the list, too!  We will distribute the survey soon (at church and here online).  The more of you who respond, the better idea we will have of what direction(s) our church can go in the coming year.

See you Sunday!

dm

IMPROVING OUR COMMUNICATION

In this "Electronic Age" that we live in, keeping in touch with one another is easier than ever (especially for those who have Internet access).  Girdwood Chapel can be found "online" in two places--this website and also on Facebook.  These websites give us two additional ways to communicate with each another as a congregation and with the community-at-large.

During this time of transition, our Intentional Interim Pastor (Linda Jean Myers) will help us determine how we maintain and even improve the way our church functions.  In the coming weeks we will have discussions concerning the direction(s) our congregation may choose to travel.  So it will be even more important for us to stay connected and informed.  One way we can do this more effectively is through the use of these two websites.

The responsibility of maintaining the flow of information will be shared between Linda Jean and Duane Magoon (member of the Lay Ministry Committee).  We intend to communicate *regularly* with you, so please check back frequently.  Let us know how we're doing.  Give us ideas how either/both websites can be improved.  For example, what type(s) of information do you want to have posted? (e.g. upcoming sermon topics? announcements? prayer requests/praise items? etc.)

You are encouraged to make public comments on either/both websites. (That's one way to know how involved our congregation is with this form of communication.)  However, if you wish to comment privately, please use the chapel's e-mail address (girdwoodchapel@gmail.com).  In either case, it is important that we hear from you!

See you in church Sunday?

dm