In honor of Mother’s Day, the children from the Sunday School of the UMC in Strumica led the morning worship service on May 9, 2010.  They presented an entertaining and informative drama, “Who Wants to Be a Milionaire?” with questions about mothers and other famous women from the Bible.  The children also led the prayers, sang and read the Scriptures.  Carol Partridge, missionary from the USA assigned to the UMC in Macedonia by the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM), gave a short sermon on the value of love.  At the end of the service, the children gave a flower and Bible verse to each woman in the congregation. 

With God's help and the dedication of the Commission for Work with Youth, this year we again managed to gather the youth of our congregations, to rejoice together, to fellowship together and to praise God together.  This year we chose the Oraovica monastery of St Gorgi, near Radovis, a beautiful mountain spot for our two-day gathering. We were about 25 youth of different ages. The theme of this year's gathering was: Who is like God?  We had an excellent lecture where we learned many new things.  Indeed, God is great and nobody is like God. Our time was completely filled with various games, songs, prayers and discussions.  I thank God for this wonderful occasion. I look forward to the next youth gathering.

On Sunday, April 25, 2010, the youth from the Strumica UMC led the morning worship service with songs, Scripture and prayer.  Pavlina Manavska, a university student, gave a thoughtful sermon about our relationship with God, saying we must constantly praise God and give God thanks.  In a short drama, the prayer of a young woman was interrupted by the voice of God, who posed many questions about the sincerity of her prayer.  The faith and commitment of the youth was apparent in this joyful celebration of worship.
The youth are raising financial support for building a "hideaway" in the church, a room that will be exclusively for the youth, for meetings, classes and other gatherings.




 

April 23 - 24,  2010, a seminar for pastors and lay leaders in the church was held at the Miss Stone Center.  The theme was: Membership in the United Methodist Church. Superintendent Wilfried Nausner presented the seminar.

CHRIST IS RISEN - HE IS RISEN INDEED

On the occasion of the Easter holiday, festive worship services were held in all our churches where the Good News: Christ's Resurrection.  Evening services were reserved for the children's programs; the children through plays, recitations and songs praised God and rejoiced in Christ's victory over death.












We would like to greet you with a text from the Bible, from the Gospel of John 20: 1-17:
 
    Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary from Magdala went to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb's entrance.  So she ran to Simon Peter and the other disciple, whom Jesus loved.  She told them, "They have removed the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they've put him."
    So Peter and the other disciple headed for the tomb.  The two were running side by side, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and came to the tomb first.  He bent over and looked inside the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there but didn't go inside.  Simon Peter arrived after him and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there.  He also saw the cloth that had been on Jesus' head. It wasn't lying with the strips of linen but was rolled up separately.  Then the other disciple, who arrived at the tomb first, went inside. He saw and believed.  They didn't know yet what Scripture meant when it said that Jesus had to come back to life.  So the disciples went back home.
    Mary, however, stood there and cried as she looked at the tomb. As she cried, she bent over and looked inside.  She saw two angels in white clothes. They were sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying. One angel was where Jesus' head had been, and the other was where his feet had been.  The angels asked her why she was crying.
    Mary told them, "They have removed my Lord, and I don't know where they've put him."  After she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. However, she didn't know that it was Jesus.
    Jesus asked her, "Why are you crying? Who are you looking for?"
    Mary thought it was the gardener speaking to her.  So she said to him, "Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I'll remove him."
    Jesus said to her, "Mary!"
    Mary turned around and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (This word means "teacher.")
    Jesus told her, "Don't hold on to me. I have not yet gone to the Father. But go to my brothers and sisters and tell them, 'I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. ' " (GNB)









CHRIST IS RISEN - HE IS RISEN INDEED