Dansville & Sparta Center UMC’s
Circuit Rider
Volume 1 / Issue 2 April, May & June 2022
***********************************************
Transitional Pastor’s Letter:
March 16, 2022
Dear friends in Christ,
Greetings Dansville United Methodist Church!
My name is Pastor Jeri Kober, and I will be pilgriming with you
for the next three months as your interim pastor, or if you will, your
transitional pastor. Dansville UMC has always been a beacon of
Light into the community and I trust that with prayer and the help of
the Holy Spirit a new pastor will be called who will be with you for
hopefully many years to come. Meanwhile, I feel blessed to be with
you during this transition.
Let me take this opportunity to share a little bit about myself: I am
married to Jim Kober, and we have three grown children, six
grandchildren and two grand-dogs. I retired from ministry in 2018
and six months later my husband retired from the Rochester Fire
Department.
I entered the ministry in 2004 with my first church being your
neighbor; Webster’s Crossing UMC. I served Webster’s Crossing
UMC for seven years. Eventually this appointment became yoked
with Allen’s Hill UMC. Later I served Allen’s Hill UMC while it too,
was being yoked with East Bloomfield UMC until I retired. Currently
Jim and I attend the Macedon Center UMC.
My daily prayer is to ask God to open my eyes to see, my ears to
hear, my heart to love and my hands to reach out to others to be His
face to all I meet. Through this prayer I can’t help but think that God
has led me here to Dansville UMC. But greater still, is the
opportunity for all of us to be witnesses to God’s promise of love, His
grace, healing power and His constant presence in a hurting and
wounded world.
I look forward to meeting you and breaking Bread together on
Sunday, April 3rd
.
In His Grace and Peace,
Pastor Jeri Kober
*************************
Worship Calendar Dates Observed
April
10th Palm Sunday
14th Maundy Thursday
Also known as Holy Thursday, this day
celebrates the institution of the Eucharist (or
Holy Communion) at Jesus’ Last Supper.
15th Good Friday
Passover Begins / The Friday of Jesus’
crucifixion.
17th Easter Sunday
Celebration of the resurrection of Christ.
May
8
th Mother’s Day
26th Ascension of the Lord
29th Ascension Sunday
30th Memorial Day
June
5
th Day of Pentecost
12th Trinity Sunday/Peace with
Justice
19th Father’s Day/Juneteenth
**************************
Inside this Issue:
Page 1
• Transitional Pastor’s Letter
• Worship Calendar Dates
• Inside this Issue
Page 2
• DUMW Activities & News
• Dansville Coffee Hour
• Dansville Austere Supper 6 p.m.
Maundy Thursday 7 p.m.
• Dansville Good Friday Service
• Blessed are the Wiggles
Page 3
• Dansville Easter Egg Hunt
• Dansville Church Library
Page 4
• Coloring Page for Children
Page 5
• Happenings on the Hill…
UMW Sparta Center
• Love Devotional
Page 6
• Sparta Center Bible Study
• Planting Your Spring Garden
• Sparta Center Easter Egg Hunt
• The Jelly Beans
Page 7
• Sparta Center Chicken BBQ
Page 8
• From the Circuit Rider Editors
• Methodist Munchies
• Sparta Center Church Info
• Dansville Church Info
Submitted by Deborah Fenton
UMW Activities and News
The UMW is busy preparing for
Easter activities and Holy Week.
We will be stuffing Easter eggs
with candy on April 6th for our
Easter Egg Hunt at the church on
April 9th. Kaleb Kenney will be
our Easter bunny again this year.
Donations of empty plastic eggs
and candy may be brought to the
church on Sundays or during
office hours.
We will host an Austere Meal
for Maundy Thursday serving a
simple soup and bread. We will
have cookies for dessert. Dinner
is at 6:00 pm with the Maundy
Thursday service following at
7:00 pm.
We are planning on having
after church luncheons starting
in May.
All women are welcome to join
us. We meet the first Wednesday
of each month at 6:15 pm from
September through June. Next
meeting April 6th at 6:15 p.m.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Dansville
Sunday Morning Coffee Hour
Join us for our church’s Coffee
Hour; the last Sunday of each
month at 10 a.m… A fun
fellowship time along with a
cup of coffee/tea and a cookie.
(Faith’s cookies, yummy!) Next
Coffee Hour 4/24/22.
Circuit Rider Page 2
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
All are Welcome to Attend an
Austere Supper
On April 14th at 6 p.m. the Dansville UMW will
be hosting a “Austere Supper”. There will be a
choice of soups, bread, butter and beverage.
Dessert will be homemade cookies. The Maundy
Thursday Service will start at 7 p.m.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Please join us at the Dansville UMC for the
Good Friday Service on April 15th at 7 p.m.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Blessed are the Wiggles… Submitted by Linda Beuter
You know the Wiggles; they are the short people whose legs
work in three speeds, run, skip or hop, whose bottoms aren’t
made for sitting and whose voices range from squeal of delight
to blood curdling scream of protest, all the while possessing an
innocent and angelic nature.
On any given Sunday, between 5 and 8 of these Wiggles
gather in Dansville for Sunday School instruction (10:15) with
Ms. Fenton in the Education Wing, introduction to Worship
(11:00) with the congregation in the Sanctuary and Jr. Church
activities (11:15) with Miss Linda back in the Education
Wing. The nursery is also available during the times of Jr.
Church, generally with 1 or 2 Wiggles playing with toys. Thank
you to Maria Little for her work in the nursery for the past
several years, having resigned from that position still serves
while we seek a replacement. There are always two Safe
Sanctuary trained adults in attendance where children are
present. If you feel led to serve on occasion in this role, please
see Linda or notify Diane in the Church office.
Currently, in Sunday School, our children are discussing the
stories of the Bible, most recently Zacchaeus, and in Jr. Church,
we are working our way through the season of Lent. The Sunday
before Lent began, we discussed Ash Wednesday while the first
Sunday in Lent we planted our Mother’s Day flowers,
sunflowers, keeping the people of Ukraine in our thoughts while
learning about random acts of kindness. We welcome your
children and grandchildren any time.
Dansville UMC Easter Egg Hunt
Saturday, April 9th at 10 a.m.
Held at the church for our children and grandchildren
and their friends, they would like to bring.
Bring your Basket to Collect Easter Eggs!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Submitted by JoEllen Smith
DANSVILLE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH LIBRARY
Hello! I’m the Dansville United Methodist Church Library. I am in the Annex
Section (Sunday School Rooms, Nursery, etc.) of the church. I have shelves of books
and movies. I have a couple of couches and some comfy chairs. I am also one of the
warmest places in the church with carpet on the floor.
My shelves hold many secrets for the person who loves to read and learn new
things. NO DIGITAL STUFF AND NO ELECTRONICS! SORRY. There are some
very old books (which can still entertain and teach you new things) and some new
books (to help you expand your relationship with God and tug at your heart strings).
The Church Mice have been busy – cleaning, inventorying, weeding out, and
organizing my shelves.
There are KIDS books – board books, pop-up books, Bible Story books, Christopher Church Mouse books,
learn-to-read books and many more. Don’t know about Christopher Church Mouse Books? Better check out
my shelves.
There are OLD PEOPLE books (just kidding). Do you want to read other versions of the Bible, the
individual books of the Bible and who wrote them, women and men in the Bible, daily devotional books, etc.
These are some of the books on my shelves also.
Or do you just want to sit down with a feel-good book to soothe your soul and give you some peace and
joy, maybe make you cry a little. There are some good books that will do that.
You can check these books out and take them home. Or if you just want to look at them at the table you
can do that too. Oh! And we also have movies (DVD and VCR) if you’re not into reading. There is a TV and
machines to play the movies right in the library.
Happenings On the Hill… Submitted by Pat Phillips
The UMW of Sparta is alive and well. We have moved our meeting date to 10:30 a.m. on the
last Wednesday of the month. We are all retired and enjoy meeting during the day instead of
at night. Our attendance has grown to an average of 11 members. All women of the church are
invited to come and join us.
We had great success with our Roast Beef Dinner. As always it was a church sponsored
endeavor with everyone joining in.
We also had a very successful Craft and Bake sale. We baked and frosted 90 dozen cookies.
From the laughter in the social rooms, as they decorated the cookies, sounds like they
had a blast.
Ann Davis resigned from heading up the Church crafts. We took her resignation with regret as
she has done a superb job for the past several years.
Maren Young will now head it up. We are looking forward to her ideas as we move forward.
We also took resignations from Gloria Kreiley and Ann Davis who over saw the funeral dinner
arrangements. The UMW will take over the dinners and try to fill their shoes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Love… Submitted by Lee Hook
We all know what Love is, whether it’s Love for a spouse, a child, parent, grandparent
or a friend. Have you ever really thought how deeply our Lord Loves each and every one of
us? His Love He feels for us is deeper and stronger than the Love we feel for our loved
ones. For we all know God loved the world so much he gave his only begotten Son for us.
This Love is very deep, would any of us die to save a murderer; a rapist, or a thief? Think
of the worst criminal you have heard about; would you die for that person? I myself would
say I wouldn’t. Every now and then my mind thinks about the Holocaust, six million Jews
were murdered by Hitler, whether it was a child or adult he had them all killed. I have
wondered before Hitler took his life, if he prayed to God and asked God to forgive him of
his sins, and if he accepted our Lord as his Savior, if he did, he’s in heaven with God.
I could never comprehend this Love and mercy that God has for us. We are saved by
God’s Grace. The Lord said there is Faith, Hope and Love, the greatest of these is Love.
Let us feel God’s Love and let us never forget the price he paid for us, and suffering He
endured, and the horrible death on cross, because he Loves us, there is no greater Love
then the way the Lord Loves us. May we always remember and never forget. Amen
Check out Sparta
Center Bible Study
with Pastor David.
What a great
opportunity to expand
your knowledge in the Word. Bible
study on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Planting Your Spring Garden
For the Garden of Your Daily Living
Plant Three Rows of Peas
1. Peace of Mind
2. Peace of Heart
3. Peace of Soul
Plant Four Rows of Squash
1. Squash Gossip
2. Squash Indifference
3. Squash Grumbling
4. Squash Selfishness
Plant Four Rows of Lettuce
1. Lettuce Be Faithful
2. Lettuce Be Kind
3. Lettuce Be Patient
4. Lettuce Really Love One Another
No Garden is Complete Without Turnips
1. Turnip For Meetings
2. Turnip For Service
3. Turnip To Help One Another
To Conclude Our Garden, We Must Have Thyme
1. Thyme For Each Other
2. Thyme For Family
3. Thyme For Friends
Water Freely with Patience and Cultivate
with Love.
There is Much Fruit in Your Garden Because You
Reap What You Sow.
Pass It on!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Then the Angel spoke, “Don’t be frightened, He
isn’t here! For He has come back to life again, just
as He said He would. And now go quickly and tell
his disciples that He has risen from the dead.”
Mathew 28:5-7
Circuit Rider, Page 6
Sparta Center’s Annual
Easter Egg Hunt
Saturday April 16th
10 a.m. – 12 noon
Everyone is Welcome to
Come Join in the Fun!
********************
THE JELLY BEANS
Red is for the blood He gave,
Green is for the grass He made,
Yellow is for His sun so bright,
Orange is for the edge of night,
Black is for the sins we made,
White is for grace He gave,
Purple is for His hours of sorrow,
Pink is for our new tomorrow.
May every day be Easter in your heart.
May the Joy you feel on Easter morning
be the joy of each day of your life.
Sparta Center
United Methodist Church
Chicken BBQ Dinner
Sunday, April 24th, 2022
***TAKE OUT ONLY***
Serving 12 (noon) to 2:00 pm
PRESALE TICKETS – Will be sold between 10 am and
2 pm at the Dansville United Methodist Church
Tuesday, April 12th
Thursday, April 14th
Tuesday, April 19th
Thursday, April 21st
or from any Church Member
Adults – $12.00 Children Under 10 – $6.00
Chicken by Stearns
with Oven Roasted Potatoes, Baked Beans,
Coleslaw, Rolls and Cookies
State Route 256 Located 4 miles North of Dansville
CURBSIDE PICK-UP – Ross Road side of the Church
From the Circuit Rider Editors
Happy Easter!
The Circuit Rider will be sent out quarterly. This
is your “Circuit Rider”, please contribute with your
article(s) that you would like published.
See Circuit Rider Editor Contact information at
the bottom for information to email your article to
Irene Hamsher. Or drop your articles off at the
Dansville church office.
All articles will need to be submitted by June
18th, or sooner for our 3rd Quarter publication.
We will edit articles as we need; will not publish
any articles that do not comply with UMC
Conference standards.
Editors
Irene Hamsher
(585) 335-6475; irene47ham@gmail.com
Jean Glover
(585) 335-8838; jinglejean@frontiernet.net
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Methodist Munchies…
Remembrance – Dorothy Kennedy Fenton
Methodist Beans
4 slices bacon
1 med. onion, sliced
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can lima beans, drained
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 can pork and beans, not drained
1⁄4 c. American cheese, cubed small
1⁄2 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. ketchup
Parmesan cheese
Brown bacon. Remove from frying pan. Add
sliced onion into fat and cook until almost
tender. Mix kidney beans, lima beans,
Worcestershire sauce, pork and beans, cheese,
brown sugar and ketchup together in a baking
dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese on top.
Bake 1⁄2 hour at 350 degrees.
Circuit Rider Page 8
SPARTA CENTER
UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
8455 SPARTA CENTER ROAD
DANSVILLE, NY 14437
Pastor David Zastrow (585) 236-0887
Pastordavidzastrow@yahoo.com
Church Office (585) 335-2091
Barb Taft, Church Secretary
barwat58@hotmail.com
Hugh Stevenson, Lay Leader
Joanne Fugle, Organist & Choir Director
Sunday Service @ 9:30 am
❖
DANSVILLE
UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
5 CHESTNUT AVENUE
DANSVILLE, NY 14437
Transitional Pastor Jeri Kober
(585) 766-7108
jerikober24@gmail.coml
Sharon Wolf, Len Komula, Scott West
and JoEllen Smith, Liturgists
Jean Glover, Dansville Choir Director
Megan Komula, Assistant Choir Director
Doris Hedges, Pianist
Church Office: (585) 335-5354
Diane Brown, Church Secretary
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday
10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Sunday Service @ 11:00 am
Contact for Both Churches
Email: DansvilleSpartaCenterUMCs@gmail.com
Website: www.DansvilleSpartaCenterUMCs.org