Heart Seeds - Groveville United Methodist Church

A Note and an Invitation from the Pastor

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

The one who is our life-breath and who guards our going out and our coming home.

Just as I have shared this invitation with you, I invite you to share it with others.

When in your life have you felt exhausted?

Why do you think it came to that?

Could you use a way to be blessed with the gift of rest in your lives?

Join us Sunday at 11:00 am, in person or on YouTube as we begin to explore Rest in our lives.

In our next four-week series beginning on February 2, we explore the profound importance of rest in our lives.

We start with Elijah’s experience of divine rest, learn how to find a healthy balance of rest. work and play, understand

the rhythm of rest models by God, and affirm that God has given everyone the gift or rest to be embraced.

I created an event on Facebook for this series. If you are on Facebook, I invite you to share it with your friends and invite someone to join you.

We all know someone that would appreciate a little more rest in their lives.

There is no better rest, than to “Rest in God.”

Weekly

Devotional: Topic: Discipleship Tuesdays at 6:45 pm

Bible Study Wednesdays at 10:00 am

Looking ahead

Trustees Monday 2/3 at 6:30 pm

Christian Women Monday 2/10

Coastal Plains Day of Learning (see previous email) Saturday 2/22 8:30-12:00 at Hope UMC in Voorhees.

Flea Market Saturday March 1st 8:00-2:00 pm. See Nancy Lipton for more information.

Groveville United Methodist Church

447 Church Street

Groveville, NJ 08620

(609) 585-0404

grovevilleumc@gmail.com

www.grovevilleumc.org

Happy New Year 2025 from Heart Seeds

This past Monday was Epiphany, Three Kings Day. I found myself thinking of the journey of the Wisemen, all of the planning and all of the faith needed to walk it out. There’s not much written about their preparation, or even the journey itself. But, Scripture captures their explosive JOY when they reach their destination and their faith is realized.

When they saw the STAR they REJOICED with great joy… They rejoiced with EXCEEDINGLY great joy.

When they saw the CHILD they fell down and WORSHIPPED.

They REJOICED and they WORSHIPPED.

May 2025 find us, God’s children, rejoicing with exceedingly great joy while following the Light of His Word, journeying with Him on desert sands, wilderness pathways, through valleys, and over mountains. May our faith be strengthened as we come to know the love of the Christ Child born just for us.

May we fall down and worship Him, the One who is able to do exceedingly (there’s that word again) abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.

“To Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭19‬-‭21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Please join us for worship this Sunday morning at 11:00. We’ll be kicking off our 3rd season of Heart Seeds. This year we will be traveling together on God’s version – Route 66 Hwy.

Rejoicing with Exceedingly Great JOY,

Georgie

GUMC Heart Seeds

Journey of Healing

Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ,

In the new year, with our new bishop, and in this new season of our lives, we are invited, along with United Methodists from Greater New Jersey (GNJ) and Eastern Pennsylvania (EPA) , into a journey of healing.

Here is the beginning of Bishop Moore Koi-koi’s invitation:

“Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.” Jeremiah 17:14 NRSVue

Dear United Methodists of Eastern Pennsylvania and Greater New Jersey,

I greet you in the name and with the love of Jesus who is the Christ.

When I first arrived in EPA & GNJ, I quickly became aware of the deep wounds present among us. These wounds have come from many sources: the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic; sociopolitical struggles; racial, economic, and systemic injustices; pains arising through division and conflict at every level of our denomination—from the general church all the down to the conference and the local church; and other forms of harm that have caused pain and division. As people of faith, we acknowledge these wounds, but we do not face them alone.

Today, I am excited to invite you into A Journey of Healing: From Lamentation to Praise—a conference-wide campaign designed to walk with one another, through God’s grace, toward healing and ultimately, PRAISE! This journey will unfold over the coming months, culminating in opportunities to praise and celebrate the work of God in our lives during District Conferences and our Annual Conference in May.

Here is our timeline for this journey:

January: Naming the Woundedness
February: Praying Over the Wounds
March: Cleansing the Wounds (Lenten Gatherings with Communion & Healing Services)
April: Protecting the Wound (Prayer Litanies on the Website & Prayer Opportunities)
May: Praise! (District Conference & Annual Conference Praise Opportunities)