Harmony UMC

Welcome

History

 On a 1794 map, a Methodist Meeting House is shown on a fork of Fowling Creek, southeast of the millpoind. Then land was deeded to a V where five roads converged in 1840. A small wooden church was built facing Harmony Road. This church was sold to an African-American congregation and moved on Gilpin Point Road. The present sanctuary was built facing Gilpin Point in 1858. These Harmony churches served well for about 75 years on circuits which changed many times, but the sanctuary was closed by the early 1900s. After a great revival in 1916, 51 persons were converted! Thirty nine baptism were recorded in 1922! As the 20s and 30s were lean years, there wer times when the church was closed or only had Sunday School.

Harmony began to prosper again, and, in 1947, a Sunday School room was added to the back of the church. This was moved in 1960 to be added to the new two-story Education Building. the parsonage was built in 1953. Many ministers and full-time Christian workers ahve gone forth in the 1800s thru today to fulfill the Great Commission! To God be the glory!

Upcoming Events

Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012 – Men’s breakfast at Harmony at 7a.m.

Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012 – Men’s breakfast at Harmony at 7a.m.

Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012 – “Winter-Grass” Bluegrass Concert to benefit Ames UMC building fund at 2p.m. at the home of Bill and Gail Towers (26299 Sennett Rd., Denton, MD). Inside event, bring a lawn chair, food will be available. Bands performing are Flatland Drive, New & Used Bluegrass and Ray Sheridan. Cost is $10 donation at the door. Snow date is Feb. 5, 2012.

Music CD featuring Sunshine Band and Children’s Choir available to purchase for $15. Proceeds benefit Ames building fund.

There is a need for someone to help with the overhead during Sunday services. This would involve setting up the power point for each Sunday and attending praise team practices on Monday nights at 7p.m.

Prayers

Contact

The office is open  Wed. and Fri., from 9 a.m. to 12p.m.
Office phone number is 410-673-1805.

Please call office by Wed., for any announcements or prayer needs to be put in the bulletin.

Deadline for bi-monthly newsletter is in the office by noon on the last Monday of the even numbered month.

To contact the church office by phone, call 410-673-1805, or parsonage at 410-673-2411

Emails can be sent to ameshumcoffice@yahoo.com

Our mailing address is: Harmony UMC- P.O. Box 145 – Preston, Md. 21655

Newsletter

Ames/Harmony Charge Newsletter

May/June 2011

Taking Methodist Fundamentals into the Future

An excerpt from the March 18, 2011 issue of The United Methodist Reporter by UMR Columnist Donald W. Haynes

God’s character is love. Over and over again Wesley preached from and referred to the text: “We love because God first loved us” (I John 4:19).

If, then, our salvation is rooted in God’s character and that character is unrelenting love that surpasses any human love, then we believe that everyone can be saved.

A Methodist fundamental is that God’s love is for all humankind, not just the Elect.

God wills all his children to “come home.”

Wesley preached to “awaken the soul” of his listeners. Sensing God’s tenderly calling us, we can repent of our sins and receive God’s saving grace. Our journeys are very different. Some have no conscious memory of accepting Jesus as personal savior because of the Christian nurture in family and home church. For others, it is a dramatic, identifiable moment. The Greek word for repentance is “metanoia,” which means turning and going a different way. Repentance is quite different from remorse, which leaves us wallowing in our guilt. Wesley called this the “threshold” through which we step, a volitional acceptance of God’s amazing grace and forgiving love. This experience of grace is another Methodist fundamental.

Perfecting grace is our pilgrim journey as the Holy Spirit leads us to let God, in Charles Wesley’s words, “breathe…thy loving spirit into every troubled breast. Let us all in thee inherit; let us find that second rest.” He concludes this “love divine, all loves excelling” as setting “our hearts at liberty.” We can always backslide (another Methodist fundamental!) but perfecting grace does make us “more like the Master.”

To insure our growth in grace, Wesley employed what he called “means of grace.” This leads us to what he called “holiness of life and heart,” our final Methodist fundamental. The list varied, but Wesley always included “searching the scriptures,” prayer, frequent communion, and what he called “holy conversation.”

To echo A.B. Davidson, “The vision bears upon the future and must be preserved; it is of common interest to all, learned and unlearned.” Wesley gave us this vision in our powerful Methodist fundamentals; it’s up to us to learn them and bear them into the future.

New Group Homes Near Denton

The Board of Child Care is building two new group homes near Denton. Two introductory meetings will be held for interested people from local churches to hear more about the opportunity for ministry these group homes bring. They will be on Thursday May 12. The first will be at St. Mark’s UMC in Easton at 5:30p.m. The second will be at Kent Island UMC in Chester, at 7:30p.m. Each meeting will last about one hour.

Save the Date for the Threshermens Show

The youth group will be making funnel cakes at the Eastern Shore Threshermen Show again this year. The Show goes from August 5-7. Anyone interested is welcome to come out and help during that weekend.

Tornado Relief Assistance for Alabama

Recent tornados have wreaked a path of death and destruction in the south and Alabama was especially hit hard. North Alabama Conference is asking for assistance during this time.

If you want to give an offering, please give through UMCOR’s website, or make a check out to the North Alabama Conference labeled with the Advance number 3021326. I encourage you to follow the conference website, or find North Alabama missions on Facebook at www.facebook.com/missionsnal

This is a trying time for many, and we are called to, with God at our side, help to heal a hurting world. We will release any further information as we receive it. God bless.

-Rev. Matt Lacey, Director of Mission

Summer Nights in Harmony

The man answered, “’You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” – Luke 10: 27 NLT

So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching. – Hebrews 10: 24-25 The Message

Every third Saturday from 5:30-7:30p.m. during the warmer months, Harmony UMC will host a theme night with food and activities for the community free of charge.  This will be a way to connect with our neighbors and have a time of fellowship with them.

Themes for Summer:

May 21 – Down Home Country Night
Put on your cowboy hats and join us for a night of down home music,
a chili cook-off and more good ole’ fashioned country fun!

June 18 – Back to the 50’s Night
Come by for a blast to the past as we play some 50’s sock-hop tunes, dance in poodle skirts, have a hula hoop contest, sip on root beer floats and look at classic cars.

July 16 – Fiesta Night
Bring all your amigos out to take a swing at a piñata, chow down on some tacos, and enjoy a Mexican style night of fun!

August 20 – Hawaiian Luau Night
Enjoy a night in a tropical paradise as we wear grass skirts, sing karaoke, eat pulled pork and live on island time.

September 17 – Tailgate Night
Grab your favorite team jersey and stop by for a sports night complete
with hotdogs, hamburgers and tailgate games.

We want to spread the word about our Summer Nights to everyone in the area so tell everyone you see about these family friendly themed nights.

This is a large work I’ve called you into, but don’t be overwhelmed by it. It’s best to start small. Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance. The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice. You won’t lose out on a thing. – Matthew 10: 42 The Message

Ames Building Project is Moving Forward

In March, the church conference at Ames unanimously approved moving forward to get proposed plans, preliminary budget and preliminary funding plan for the addition of a new kitchen, restroom and storage space to be extended form the current fellowship hall. The proposed building project committee is moving forward with gathering information and have come up with the following floor plan for the addition of the kitchen and expansion space. An informational question and answer meeting will be opened to all interested later in May prior to holding the final church conference for approval to move forward with the breaking ground. All will be able to attend the church conference but only church members will be able to cast a vote for the building plan.

Keep an eye on the bulletin for the date of that informational meeting. In addition, questions may be forwarded to any of the committee members: John Kanarr, Jean Bradley, Bill Towers, Harley Speir, and Glenn Collison.

Angelfood Calendar

Directions

Harmony UMC is located at the juncture of MD 16 (Harmony Rd.) and MD 578 (Bethlehem Rd), about 5 miles west of Preston, MD.

For physical address on a GPS, use 6221 Bethlehem Rd, Preston, MD which will take you to the driveway and parking area.

For more details, go to www.mapquest.com

Small Groups

Small groups are forming!

• Young Adults Group (ages 18-29): This group plans to focus on discovering God’s plan for our lives and growing in faith. They are currently doing a study by Andy Stanley called “Discovering God’s Will.”  For more info and meeting dates contact Kelsey Moran or the church office.
• Youth Group for teenagers plans to meet the first Sunday of every month. For more information contact Tammy Lednum at tammysmithlednum@hotmail.com
• Emmaus Reunion Group meets after morning worship at Ames (10:30a.m.) every 3rd Sunday.
• Men’s breakfast group meets every other Saturday at Harmony at 7a.m. See calendar for dates.