Announcements for Sunday, May 4th

• Today’s altar flowers were donated by Gary and Katie Lang in celebration of son, Tanner’s 16th birthday. Happy birthday, Tanner!
• Congratulation to Jason and Cindie Rempel (and big brother Gavin) on the baptism of Ethan Cole and to Mike and Jill Huppert (and big brother William) on the baptism of Emily Maeve this morning.
• Please welcome the following new members joining the church this morning: Ferdinand & Bethany Hunter, Ron & Sumiko Sober, and Sumiko Jones.
• Christian History: Today we will discuss Job and the Problem of Evil. How do we practice humility and faith in the face of what appears to be moral chaos. Next Sunday we will look at Isaiah: Turning Swords into Plowshares. Concerned with the problems, both political and religious, created by the close proximity of Mesopotamia and Egypt, Isaiah aims to curtail the spread and melding of religious practices. He calls the people back to the original terms of the Covenant. Join us in room 225 at 9:45 a.m.
• Christian Ethics and Current Events: Come and join us today in Room 212 at 9:45 for a discussion on “After Gasoline, What?” about the consequences of and the alternatives to gasoline use. Next week’s topic is “Foreclosed” on the challenges people are facing and the support and relief Christians can offer to people hurt by the crisis.
• Sign ups for Summer Sunday School teachers begins today on the church patio between services. We are in need of 2 teachers for each class (preschool through 6th grade) during the months of June - August. All lessons and supplies will be provided. Please consider signing up for 2 Sundays this summer. For more information, contact Lisa Strazz at 480-892-9166 or christianeducation@gilbertumc.org.
• We will celebrate the graduation of our high school and college seniors during church services on Sunday, May 11. If you have someone in your family graduating this year, please contact Dina in the church office (480-892-9166 or dina@gilbertumc.org) with the graduate’s name, school graduating from and plans for next year.
• Youth Volleyball practices will start today in the activity center. Senior High will practice each Sunday from 1:00-2:30pm and Junior High each Sunday from 2:30-4:00pm. For further information, please contact Mary Vrana at 480-857-8221.
• Youth News: UMYF will meet today from 5:00-7:00pm. Please bring $3.00 for dinner. After dinner, the junior high will meet in room 226 and the senior high in room 308. UMYF will not meet next Sunday, May 11th.
• A new group for young adults (18-23), Emergent, will meet on Thursday evenings this month at 7:00pm at Paradise Bakery at Santan Village. For more information, please contact Kathy Ingram at youth@gilbertumc.org.
• Join the church at the Phoenix Mercury Home Opener game against the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday, May 17th at 12:30pm. The ticket price is $15 for lower level seats. The celebration will include the 2007 WNBA Championship Ring Ceremony, Championship Banner Unveiling, a Mercury Championship Rally towel for all in attendance and a replica Championship ring to the first 5,000 fans in attendance. Please see Lisa Sotomayor on the patio today to purchase tickets or for more information.
• Quarterly Giving Statements for the period 1/1/08 – 3/31/08 were mailed on April 25. Please note your statement shows your detailed contributions, as well as the status of your Capital Campaign Pledge and your 2008 General Fund Pledge. If you have questions, please contact Kim Dare, Financial Secretary, at finance@gilbertumc.org or call her in the church office on Tuesdays or Thursdays from 12:15-2:15pm.
• The Wesley Community Center has collected Campbell’s Soup Labels for the past 15 years. Over the years, these labels have been redeemed for 4 computers, a TV/VCR/DVD player, and numerous games and toys. The center is hoping to collect enough labels to acquire a video/data projector. So far, 83,000 of the necessary 91,000 labels have been collected. The Wesley Center hopes to have the additional labels collected by the end of May. If you would like to help, please bring your labels and the accompanying UPC symbols to the church office. For more information about the Campbell’s Soup Label program, please visit http://www.labelsforeducation.com/pdf/eligible_products.pdf.