First Things First. New Adult Sunday School

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1 First Things First Sunday Services Worship: 8:30 a.m. 11:00 a.m. Nursery Care begins: 9:40 a.m. In this issue: World Communion Sunday 1 Shed the Light On DV 2 Call for Study Leaders 3-4 UMW 5 Book Club 6 Calendar Birthdays, Anniversaries, & Prayer List 7 Interested in receiving the newsletter by ? Forward your address to the church office: fumc@gci.net 1 New Adult Sunday We are starting a second Adult Sunday class! The class is a young adult class, we will be meeting in the library on Sunday mornings. We will be watching short videos and having a discussion about the videos. Starting with the Rob Bell Nooma series, each film is about minutes long. Everyone is invited to come and join in! From the website: NOOMA is a series of short films that explore our world from a perspective of Jesus. NOOMA is an invitation to search, question, and join the discussion. NOOMA films are created and produced by Flannel, a nonprofit organization. We are a group of people committed to giving everyone a fresh and compelling look at the teachings of Jesus. Jenn Miller will lead the first meeting, but will be out a few Sundays. Everyone is welcome to come and join!

2 First United Methodist Church Shed the Light on Domestic Violence The Information below is national statistics. The truth is, in Alaska 60% of women will experience domestic violence in her life time. That is OVER twice the national average. As a community of faith, we are called to be the voices of those who do not have voices of their own. We are called to stand up to the injustice of the world. We are called to join together and share the love that we all know. Everyone is invited to join us on October 28th at 6pm to participate in a service of prayers for this that have been touched by Domestic Violence. 2

3 CALL FOR 2016 MISSION u CERTIFIED STUDY LEADERS September 24, 2015 The Executive Team of the Alaska United Methodist Women is receiving applications for two Study Leaders to teach at Mission u Events throughout the Alaska Conference of the United Methodist Church. The time frame for teaching is mid-summer through the end of Those responding to this call will become certified and are expected to teach at a minimum of three or maximum of four Mission u Events held regionally throughout the Alaska United Methodist Conference. Certified leaders do not have to be a member of the United Methodist Church. As leaders in Christian Mission u Education framework, it is important that we are informed and challenged by the insights of others in fields that enhance our study leading beyond the content of the subject we teach. The certification process for study leaders includes attendance and full participation in all aspects of the three day Mission u Leader Training and reading from a reading list compiled to assist you in knowing the field of study and in making selections to enhance your background. The studies that we are recruiting teaching leaders for are: ISSUE STUDY: Climate Justice: Call to Hope and Action SPIRITUAL GROWTH STUDY: The Bible and Human Sexuality: Claiming God s Good Gift A summary of each study is attached. The Study Leaders selected will attend the Mission u Leader Training during one of the following weekends: March 31 April 3 rd Charlotte, North Carolina May 4-7 St. Louis, Missouri June with a date and location to be announced Selected study leaders and the Dean will attend the same event if possible. Expenses to attend the training and to teach at our conference Mission u Events will be paid by the Alaska United Methodist Conference UMW. Continuing education credits are available. The Dean and the Mission u planning team will work closely with the certified leaders to schedule events at convenient times. If you are interested in being considered to teach a study, please complete the attached Call for Study Leader Form and return to: Bonnie Miller, Dean of Mission Education bonitajane@yahoo.com Lisburne Avenue, Kenai, AK or The deadline for submittals is November 15, All applicants will be notified by December 1, 2015

4 The Bible and Human Sexuality: Claiming God s Good Gift By Ellen A. Brubaker Leader s Guide ~By M. Garlinda Burton The 2016 Spiritual Growth study invites us to explore the complexity of the biblical text and our varied understandings of it in light of human sexuality. We will also examine the influence of theologians and church leaders throughout thousands of years of Judeo-Christian history. Finally, we will consider the influence of family systems, heritage, and changing gender roles, along with the impact of race, class, age, ethnicity, and orientation and how each of us was reared and instructed in our Christian faith. Talking about Sexuality and the Church Whether you agree or disagree with the official stances of The United Methodist Church, it is important to be conversant about them. It is important to be aware of your own beliefs, feelings, biases, and understandings because this self-awareness leads to conversation and understanding. Sexuality is not an easy topic for most of us. Many Christians have confusing and complicated notions of human sexuality, the Bible, our personal beliefs, and what the church should and should not teach and require. It is Good The good news, says Ellen Brubaker, is that human sexuality is part of who we are as human beings, created by God and called good. Sexuality, at its best, is a divine gift meant to enhance and strengthen relationships and draw us closer to our partner, she explains. And there are many citations in the Bible that point to the good gift of sexuality, explicitly and implicitly, beginning with the creation stories in Genesis. Finding a Loving Response The world is watching and waiting for a relevant, compelling, loving, challenging, and cogent word from the Body of Christ. Our silence or simplistic thou shalt nots are no longer adequate for the people in our care for those who claim church membership and those who need and seek spiritual community. We are sexual beings. God made us that way. Sexuality can be celebrated and it can be exploited; it can draw us closer to the one we love, or it can divide whole communities of faith. Yet, we are called to be the Beloved Community of healing, wholeness, reconciliation, and love. How we help one another make sense of the beauty and complexity of sexuality is the purpose of this study. Open your minds and hearts, and let s wrestle together. ~Adapted from the Leaders Guide by M. Garlinda Burton~ Climate Justice: Call to Hope and Action Edited by Pat Watkins Leader s Guide ~By Anna Rhee Climate Justice: Call to Hope and Action will deepen your understanding and awareness of climate change and its impact on God s creation. The study highlights justice, peace, and integrity of creation as important dimensions of partnering in God s mission today. It offers participants biblical, theological, and ethical insights as the basis of their advocacy on climate justice in churches and in the public sphere. Deepen Understanding Learn not only about climate change, but also about the justice concerns raised by the drivers of climate change and the communities affected by it. Participants in this study will also learn how their own actions contribute to climate change and what they can do to positively affect the environment. Equipped with this information, they will be able to share their knowledge, be intentional about living a sustainable lifestyle, and learn how to support those who suffer because of climate change. Diverse Perspectives Each chapter gives a different perspective of climate justice through the eyes of eight diverse authors. Participants will study: the ways God has asked us to care for the earth; the perspectives of those who are currently affected by the realities of climate change; the meaning of climate justice and the perspective and priorities it requires; and the rich resources available in the life of the Church and beyond to address these concerns 4

5 First United Methodist Church October events: 9-11th Annual Gathering~ North Star Bible Camp 12th Hope Circle~ 7:00 p.m. Ari Schablein~ host 13th Executive Board Meeting~ 6:30 p.m. 14th Friendship Circle~ 11:30 a.m. Mary Bettis~ host 14th Sunshine Circle~ 12 :30 p.m. Jean White~ host 17th General Meeting~ 11:30 a.m. 5 United Methodist Women Upcoming Events UMW Service Project & Program We will be gathering on October 17th at 11:30 a.m. we will be making tie blankets for Alaska Child & Family. Each child that enters their program receives a welcome basket which is wrapped in a fleece blanket. For the Program we will be develop an understanding of why people in the United States are poor and what policies are effective in reversing poverty. The program is titled Poverty & Possibility. Everyone is welcome to come and enjoy this time together. Alaska UMW Birthday Bags Each year at UMW's Annual Gathering we take a collection for a "Tangible Offering". This year we have been asked to collect items for Birthday Bags to donate to the MatSu Food Bank. Birthday Bags are given to families to help them celebrate their child's birthday. Items needed are for boys and girls: birthday paper plates cups plastic-ware napkins table clothes Alaska Conference UMW Annual Gathering This year s annual gathering is being held at the North Star Bible Camp. Its location is Willow Fishhook Road, Willow, Alaska. It s on the road to Hatcher Pass. Part of each annual gathering is devoted to mission outreach. This year the Silent Auction proceeds will be split between Birchwood Camp in Chugiak and Eagle River Camp SE in Juneau for their scholarship programs. For our Tang-ble Giving, we are asking that each participant/unit provide items for children s birthday parties: paper plates, cups, plasticware, napkins, plastic or paper table cloths, balloons, candles, cake mix, icing, gift bag toys, etc. We will pack the items into birthday bags and donate them to the MatSu Food Bank for distribution. We will be collecting the Unit Pledges for 2016 on Saturday night during worship. During the weekend we will be getting more information about the Legacy Fund. This Fund is being set up to honor our UMW foremothers, the ones who started us UMW Annual Gathering Tangible Giving Christmas Brunch/Auction December 5th will soon be here and that is the date for our annual gala festivity! It will again be held at the Petroleum Club. The tickets will be on sale, in the Narthex, NOVEMBER 1, 8, 15, 22, &29 for $20. In the meantime, get your hand crafted articles ready or buy one at one of the numerous Anchorage craft bazaars. Get your white elephant commercial articles ready, also, for the silent auction tables. Get your tickets bring a guest (or two)! Our very own Doug Lindsay will be our auctioneer extraordinaire! This event is always filled with great food and great fun! balloons candles cake mix icing gift bags toys any other birthday party supplies Please place all items in the basket in the Narthex before October 7th.If you have questions; please speak with Jenn Miller or Lori Staats on this journey of relationship with God, each other and our world. The Fund is designed to someday support the administrative side of UMW, so that everything we collect for mission can be spent directly on mission. The Alaska United Methodist Women Executive Team hopes that you will come to this year s annual gathering You Raise Me Up, and bring a friend! Everyone will be provided a book on prayer beads and we ll be making our own prayer beads. Be thinking about who raises you up and how: God, spouse, children, friends, co-workers, pets? Our hope is that you will take this weekend to reflect on this theme and refresh yourself in the outdoors. Join us and be inspired to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world! If you have any questions or comments, please call Barbara Mitchell at or her at cbmitch@hotmail.com. For information on this or Alaska UMW please speak with Jennifer Miller.

6 First United Methodist Church Book Club September 28th we discussed Searching for Sunday by Rachel Held Evans. Like millions of her millennial peers, Rachel Held Evans didn't want to go to church anymore. The hypocrisy, the politics, the gargantuan building budgets, the scandals--church culture seemed so far removed from Jesus. Yet, despite her cynicism and misgivings, something kept drawing her back to Church. And so she set out on a journey to understand Church and to find her place in it. Centered around seven sacraments, Evans' quest takes readers through a liturgical year with stories about baptism, communion, confirmation, confession, marriage, vocation, and death that are funny, heartbreaking, and sharply honest. A memoir about making do and taking risks, about the messiness of community and the power of grace, Searching for Sunday is about overcoming cynicism to find hope and, somewhere in between, Church. We discussed how our past experiences in the church (both positive and negative) mold who we are and how we respond to church. terrors of war, she meets Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can completely. But when he betrays her, Isabelle joins the Resistance and never looks back, risking her life time and again to save others. With courage, grace and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah captures the epic panorama of WWII and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women's war. The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war -torn France--a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime. We will be meeting I the home of Ann York, 2437 Loussac Drive, October 26th at 7:00 p.m. For November we choose a classic Where the Red Fern Grown by Wilson Rawls. We are always looking for great new books to discuss! Please come and share what you are reading. On October 26 we will be discussing The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah: In love we find out who we want to be. In war we find out who we are. FRANCE, 1939 In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn't believe that the Nazis will invade France but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When a German captain requisitions Vianne's home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive. Vianne's sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown October: Nightingale By Kristin Hannah November: Where the Red Ferns Grow By Wilson Rawls 6

7 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 4 11:00 a.m Joint FSUMC/ FUMC 5:30 p.m. A 5 6 6:00 p.m. Concretion Team Meeting 7 12:30 p.m. Sandwich Making 6:00 p.m Trustees Prayer List Our thoughts and prayers are extended to: Billie Smalley Teddy & Ruth Koweluk Fred Stassel Pastor Fisher Military personnel For People who suffer in the midst of war and violence 11 8:00am Youth at Bean s Café 11:00am Worship 1:00pm FSUMC Worship 12 6:00 pm Finance 7:00pm UMW Hope Circle 13 6:45pm UMW Executive Board 14 11:30am UMW Friendship Circle 12:30pm UMW Sunshine Circle 15 12:30 pm Out to Lunch Bunch :30am UMW General Meeting 18 11:00am Worship 1:00pm FSUMC Worship October Wedding Anniversary 25 11:00am Worship 1:00pm FSUMC Worship 5:30 pm 26 6:30pm Peanut Farmers 7:00pm Book Club :00 pm Shed the Light on Domestic Violence :00-4:00pm Trick or Treat in the Street James & Kaprice Zuke 21 years Timothy & Gerry Kile 14 years Derek & Kiersten Jedlicka 13 years Congratulations to these happy couples!! Barbara Hatch 1 Rick Miller 1 Jacquie Leibach 3 Diane Peterson 4 Myrna Waters 7 Van Chaney 10 October Birthdays Susitina Normani 11 Delaney McCormack 12 Thomas Tutaan 13 Wayne Campbell 16 Mike Walsh 16 Elsa Tutaan 17 Clayton Walker 22 Leah Morgan-Carroll 23 Dan Carey 28 Eric Sikes 28 Kathy Harris 29 7