Pastor’s Walk
My business requires that I drive the
streets of Charlotte daily. It is a part of my
job that I both dislike and love. I dislike
having to traverse the busy and crowded
streets of our town so often. The traffic
most days is intolerable and some
days…downright impossible. Plus, who is
teaching drivers that they can make left
hand turns from the far right hand lane!
Traffic and bad drivers aside, I do, however,
enjoy getting to tool around Charlotte daily
and see all that is going on in our city of
constant change. Over these past 20 years in
business, I have seen entire streetscapes
transformed
and
renewed…buildings
demolished
and
rebuilt…communities
revitalized. There is one thing, I have
noticed, that has hardly ever changed and it
is a constant that one can find practically
around every corner of our city…empty
church parking lots and churches.
We are a city of church steeples and
except for a few exceptions around town we
are also a city where those church steeples
are atop church buildings that spend the
majority of their time empty and unused.
Buildings that are surrounded by parking lots
that are desolate and look pretty much
abandoned except for one or two staff
personnel vehicles. The sad thing, I have
noticed during my drives around Charlotte, is
the wasted potential to do more ministry…to
be more open to the community…to offer
space in our many church buildings in and
around Charlotte to those who need it. To
use a church facility that is dedicated to the
glory and will of God only on Sunday
mornings and the occasional Wednesday
night, I would go so far as to say, is not being
very good stewards of God’s blessing. It is
also a huge misstep in that, by sitting empty,
Christ’s churches are missing out on
countless opportunities to engage in active
and positive Kingdom building….which is the
whole reason Christ encouraged us to form a
church!
When I was first appointed to
Commonwealth UMC two years ago, one of
the aspects I loved about this church as I
read the bio the D.S. gave me was that we
opened our doors to the IOCC Congregation
every Sunday afternoon and A.A. every
Wednesday night.
As I read those
statements, I knew this was a church that
understood their purpose…to be Kingdom
builders. As I have been given the honor of
leading CUMC these past two years, I have
continued to be on the lookout for folks who
could use our facility during those times
when we are not in need of it. In addition to
the IOCC and A.A.; we have had, for a time,
the Key ReSale shop use our facility, the
Neighborhood Association, and several other
non-profit groups. The Produce Box (a small
business franchise run by local moms
delivering veggies to peoples doors) has
been using our parking lot on Wednesdays as
a staging area. Just recently, a group of
excellent gardeners (and some like me just
pretending to be) have created a Butterfly
garden for the community (and the
butterflies). I have also got a couple of
scouts working on Eagle project plans for a
“Little Library” and a labyrinth on our
property to further encourage the
community to engage our facility. And let’s
not forget our own Pia who offers T’ia Chi
Chih classes in Fellowship Hall.
Our little church is coming alive…yet
there are many times during any given week
where our church facility is baron…where
the casual passerby would wonder if anyone
ever worships there anymore. My goal in
these coming months and year is to find
more folks who are in need of space. My
hope is to find folks who are looking for a
place to do and engage in ministry, in
Kingdom building right here in the
community surrounding us. This is my hope
and prayer…but I need your help. I need
your help in getting the word out that we are
“open for business” so to speak. Let folks
know that at Commonwealth UMC there is a
place for them to engage in ministry…a place
and space for them to set up and operate…a
place that will one day soon have people
walking and driving by and saying, “Wow!
That church is really doing something around
here for God!”
Grace,
Rev. Steve Kurt
Worship Schedule
May 21st 6th Sunday of Easter
Scripture: Acts 17: 22-31
Sermon: “Religious vs. Living”
Our Prayer List
Pat Inman (sister of Jackie Samuels), Martha
Lee, Donna Pruitt, Charles Stephenson, Carl
and Frances Stinson
24/6 Book Study
Wednesday’s
May 17, 24, 31 & June 7
3pm – Mary Pearre’s house
May 28th 7th Sunday of Easter
Ascension Service
Scripture: Acts 1: 1-11
Sermon: “Marching Orders…Wait!”
June 4th Pentecost Sunday
Communion
Scripture: Acts 2: 1-21
Sermon: “Marching Orders…Receive!”
June 11th Trinity Sunday
Scripture: Mathew 28: 16-20
Sermon: “Marching Orders…Go!”
June 18th 2nd Sunday after Pentecost
Father’s Day
Scripture: Romans 5: 1-8
Sermon: “Living Examples”
Nursing/Assisted Living Care
Maxine Kincaid, Hazel Lands, Anne Lever,
Sarah Lever, Ec Little, Jean Stoneman
Wesleyan Circle Luncheon
Tuesday, June 6th
12noon
Portofino’s
Administrative Council Meeting
Sunday, May 28th
Immediately following worship
Fellowship Hall
Flag Day
June 14th
Memorial Day
Prayer Group
The Prayer group meets every
Wednesday at 6pm at Mary Pearre’s home.
If you are unable to attend, you can drop
your prayer concern(s) in the prayer box
located in the Narthex.
The Church Office will be CLOSED for
Memorial Day on Monday, May 29th.
Annual Conference Lake Junaluska
June 23rd to June 25th
Gracie Beaver’s Mission Trip
June Anniversaries
7
12
15
15
19
Nancy and Jack Wright
Joann and Mike Fitzsimmons
Margie and Ron Medure
Steve and Sandy Kurt
Larry and Sheila Coppala
Gracie will be going on another Mission
Trip this summer (7/16 thru 7/22) to Mount
Hope, WV.
She will be going with TEAMeffort and
will be working on building houses, with kids
in 6th grade through 12th grade.
Father’s Day Bulletin
The Helping Hands UMW Circle will
recognize Father’s on Father’s Day Sunday.
A Father’s Day Bulletin will be prepared (cost
will be $1.00 per name) from the list of
names received “in memory of” or “in honor
of” father’s or loved ones. The altar flowers
for Father’s Day will be placed in their
names.
In Memory Of:
June Birthdays
3
5
13
16
16
19
19
20
20
23
28
30
Christy Fitzsimmons
Margie Medure
Toni Batts
Mary Pearre
Donna Pruitt
Will Myers
Larry Coppala
Sandy Painter-Kurt
Connie Hartsell
Jonathan Beaver
Hazel Lands
Scott Laye
Ec Little has a new Room Number
Ec Little
6053 Wilora Lake Road
Room 1217B
Charlotte, NC 28212
In Honor Of:
Placed By:
Thought for the Day
The most precious jewels you’ll ever have
around your neck are the arms of your
children.
Amount enclosed _________
($1.00 per name)
Please return by Sunday, June 11th.
Thank you!
Open Streets 704 was a HUGE success!!!
Butterfly Garden is Finished
We have completed the butterfly
garden and it looks fabulous. Hope you all
love it as much as our volunteers do! Thanks
to those of you who have donated your time,
hard work, money, a hummingbird feeder
and a bird feeder to the garden. It is very
much appreciated.
Adriane has ordered the memorial
“rock” for Jack Rose, and we’ll place it in the
garden as soon as it arrives. Thanks,
Adriane, for handling that for us.
Be sure to come by the church and
take a look at the beautiful flowers, butterfly
bath, bird feeders and bench.
There will be a Butterfly Dedication
next Sunday, May 21, following worship.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! A big
thank you to everyone that participated in
Open Streets 704 or donated items. It was a
beautiful day to engage with our community.
The choir provided free ice cream and water.
It was a big hit! The kids and even some
adults were excited to play with bubbles and
side walk chalk. We had so many donations
that we were able to give them some to take
home with them! Adriane made some great
labels with the church name and website to
put on the bubbles. We even had enough
extra bubbles and sidewalk chalk to send
some with Leigh to share with her
kindergarten class! There was also corn hole
to play and many people enjoyed looking at
or sitting in the butterfly garden. It was
obvious that the community really enjoyed
our presence at Open Streets 704.
In Christ,
Sandy Kurt
Thank you to all that helped with the
Mother’s Day breakfast.
Happy Birthday
Mary Pearre
Shelia, Sandra and George invite you to join
them in celebrating Mary’s 100th Birthday. It
will be Friday, June 16th from 4:00 to 6:00pm
in the Fellowship Hall at Commonwealth
United Methodist Church.
Our Vision
Our Stewardship
With God’s help and guidance, we are a
prayerful and welcoming United Methodist
church community.
A community dedicated to making of
disciples for Christ – one that is flexible,
intentional, inviting to others, and a safe
place to explore and grow spiritually.
We will be all those things in Christ by taking
small prayerful steps, keeping in mind that,
although we may be limited in our abilities,
the Spirit of God knows no such bounds and
will work within and through us to
accomplish wondrous and great things!
April 23, 2017
Sunday School - 12
Church Attendance - 23
Offering - $416.00
April 30, 2017
Sunday School - 11
Church Attendance - 38
Offering - $1,899.00
Commonwealth
United Methodist Church
2434 Commonwealth Ave.
Charlotte, NC 28205-5132
704-376-4924
May 7, 2017
Sunday School - 12
Church Attendance - 26
Offering - $1,564.50
May 14, 2017
Sunday School - 9
Church Attendance - 36
Offering - $895.00
May 16, 2017
New Address for Ruby Agnew
Ruby Agnew
6053 Wilora Lake Road
Apartment 222
Charlotte, NC 28212
Phone Number stayed the same.
Flowers on the Altar
If you would like to put a small vase
of flowers on the altar, “in memory of” or “in
honors of”, please fill out the sign-up sheet
located in the Narthex. Thank you in
advance for adding a “special touch” to our
worship service.
Steve Kurt – Pastor
Patience Brumley – Pastoral Care
Sunday School – 10:00am
Worship Service - 11:00am
Office Hours
Mon. – Thurs. 9am to 1pm