INVITE. Welcome to First Church. Week of March 8, First Church. Transformation in Christ Changing lives inside and out

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1 Transformation in Christ Changing lives inside and out SUNDAY WORSHIP 8:00am Traditional 9:30am Blended 11:00am Contemporary 601 Market St. 11:00am Contemporary 1157 Market St. (live streamed message) 5:00pm Celebrate Recovery WEDNESDAY WORSHIP 5:00pm 601 Market St. Night meal, fellowship, music, brief message, small groups (kids to adults) First Church Williamsport, PA Check us out at EVANGELICAL CENTER ALTAR FLOWERS The altar flowers are presented to the glory of God and in memory of Bill & Lillian McMurray by Carol McMurray. NEW MEMBERS The First Church family would like to welcome the following new members into the First Church family, as they officially join the church Sunday, March 8, 2015: Nina & Brett Emery, Laurie Raker, Ryan Ransom, Aaron Russell, Jourdan Boehmer, and Megan & Mike Fox. BAPTISM ANNOUNCEMENT The First Church family would like to congratulate Ryan Vanburen Ransom and Aaron Patrick Russell on being baptized on March 8, BIBLE STUDY New bible study starting March 24, Tuesday, 7PM to 8:30 PM room 201 FEC building. The Bait of Satan, by John Bevere - Living Free from the Deadly Trap of Offenses. Learn how to not let anyone affect your relationship with God. You ll be surprise who and what we let affect our relationship with God. If you think you might want to join us contact Sandra Murray at Bar for more information code and so we can order books. Welcome to First Church United Methodist Week of March 8, 2015 HOW TO GET INVOLVED AT FIRST CHURCH ORIENTATION WITH THE PASTORS New? Come meet the pastors, ask questions, and hear the vision of First Church as we help you take the next step connecting into ministry at First Church. Join us 12:30 1:30 p.m. Sunday, April 12 th in room 102 of the Evangelical Center, Lunch (pizza) is provided. Bring the kids. Register by calling the church office. PRAY FOR FIRST CHURCH Covering First Church in prayer for Lent (and beyond). Please select a specific day of the week and commit to praying for First Church that same day each week, throughout Lent. For instance, I pray for First Church on Wednesdays. Who knows? It may become your practice for the rest of the year, too! STAY CONNECTED AND GET INVOLVED! Don t Miss Anything! Go to to learn all about First Church. The First Glance newsletter, sent every Friday, briefly highlights some important upcoming events every week. Sign up to receive First Glance at connect/firstglance/ You can also like the First Church Williamsport Facebook page. Stay connected and get involved. NEW MEMBERS We are excited to welcome 8 new members today. Please see back cover for details. INVITE

2 ROOTS OF JUSTICE Begins a New Topic - Deepening the Soul for Justice at a New time: Sundays 5-6:15 pm, March 8 - April 26 (no gathering Easter Sunday). Join us as we extend our corporate Lenten focus on prayer, to consider how "Seekng justice begins with seeking God." BUSINESS MEN'S GROUP Our ongoing Wednesday morning businessman's fellowship will start a new study on March 11. Rabbi Daniel Lapin's book Business Secrets from the Bible will be the basis for our discussions in the coming weeks. Drawing on his wisdom and knowledge of the Bible, Daniel Lapin urges readers to focus on self-discipline, integrity, and character strength in order to achieve personal prosperity. Special emphasis is given to establishing positive attitudes toward making money and adopting effective Biblically-based strategies. As always our format is to pray through scripture, discuss individual wins and challenges each week, and to apply sound business and Biblical principles to our unique situations. Contact Lou Palazzo for more info on joining us: businessfellowship@windstream.net or TEACH MARCH GRAND FRIENDS Grand Friends will meet on Tuesday, March 31st at 12:00 in Fellowship Hall of the Evangelical Center. Our speaker this month will be Wayne Laubschar from the Lycoming Audubon Society. Anyone who is 60 years and older may attend. The menu will be lasagna, salad with poppy seed dressing, garlic bread, dessert and iced tea. The cost is $8.75 per person at the door. To make a reservation, see or call Carol Cassidy at (570) , no later than March 23rd. If not home, please leave a message on the answering machine. MEN'S BREAKFAST The men (and teenage sons) of First Church are invited for breakfast on Saturday, March 14 th at 8:30 AM in Fellowship Hall (FEC). Men s Mania will be cooking up a delicious Man Meal (and we ll leave it at that!), as well as providing information regarding the upcoming Promise Keepers trip in June. If you are interested, please contact Ken Durrwachter at durrw@verizon.net or sign up on the attendance sheet today. INDIANA MISSION TRIP June 27th - July 3rd First Church will be traveling to Evansville, Indiana to share the love of Jesus Christ by developing relationships, building community and repairing homes. Whether this is possibly your first mission trip or you have been on a number before, we hope you will pray about this opportunity. Applications are available at information centers as well as in the main office. Any questions, contact Mitch Marcello at (570) or mhmarcello2@gmail.com MISSION ITEMS NEEDED Local Food Pantry tea bags (regular flavor), spaghetti sauce, and pasta (any shape) Shepherd of the Streets gel shaving cream (both men & women), disposable razors (both men & women), and feminine hygiene products. Donations for these missions may be left in the baskets at the following locations: Christian Life Center - the Market Street entrance; Evangelical Center - the Ross Street entrance; North Campus - Lounge. SEND SECOND MILE MISSION FOR APRIL Formerly the Pregnancy Care Center, Expectations provides a variety of pregnancy and relationship services to expectant mothers and fathers. These services include pregnancy testing program, ultrasound program, healthy pregnancy classes, labor and birth courses, healthy marriage/relationship program, adoption education, and other programs to assist parents. For more information visit To donate, make your check payable to First Church, in the memo mark Second Mile Giving and then place it in the offering. UNITED METHODIST WOMEN The United Methodist Women will meet on Wednesday, March 18 th at 1:30 p.m. at North Campus.

3 Sermon Outline SERMON SERIES: Prayer for Our Journey Today s Sermon: John 17:1-5 Sermon in a sentence: Praying for ourselves connects us into the life giving relationship of knowing God. Our journey through Lent is a season of eternity. Prayer helps us center on the for that is life. Jesus gave us the example of praying for. When we pray for ourselves, things get very God. with God can hear the prayers of everyone because God is. Our prayers are not to be about conforming God to. When we look to God in prayer, we gain a new perspective because we re. Looking to God in prayer gives us confusing world. Prayer is about growing in our in a with Christ. Life Reflection: Will my prayer be to live my life for the glory of God? Scripture Reflection: Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths. PART-TIME CUSTODIAL POSITION AVAILABLE First Church is currently seeking a part-time, weekend custodian. Position covers Sunday mornings and also Friday night and Saturday as needed. Applicants must be 18 years of age, dependable, and capable of selfdirection. Responsibilities include opening/closing buildings, set up/tear down for events and basic cleaning. State Police clearance, Child Abuse History clearance and FBI fingerprint clearance is required for all staff. A job description is available in the church office. Those interested should apply at the church office between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday or 9:00 a.m. noon on Friday. The position will remain open until a suitable candidate is identified. For more information, contact Shelly Dincher at sdincher@comcast.net or Youth Ministries fuse* student ministries equipping students to be the fuse* - from the source of power to the place of need. 2 Corinthians 12:9 fuse* open gym The open gym ministry currently meets Monday and Tuesday from 4-6 pm at the First Church CLC. 6 th -12 th grade students are invited to participate in recreational sports and activities. fuse* This weekly event welcomes students in grades 6-12 for interactive devotional time, snacks, games, and elective activities that range from worship team to group games and tournaments. Sunday 6-8 pm at the First Church North Campus. d-fuse* student discipleship opportunities The d stands for disciple weekly opportunities for students to connect in small group settings. Wednesday Evenings 6-7 pm in the loft of the First Church CLC & Sunday Morning (6-8 th grades) In the First Church FEC room 105.

4 Pastor s Page NEWS FROM THE LEAD COUNCIL First Church, This week for the Pastor's Page message I am excited to have Mr. John Best, the chair person of our Lead Church Council, share the following with you I ask for your prayers for John and all of the Lead Church Council In Christ, Pastor Matt Greetings First Church, You may remember that last November at our annual Church Conference we voted in accordance with the United Methodist Book of Discipline to change the governance structure at First Church. Effective January 1, 2015, our previous governance committees were consolidated into one Lead Council. This Lead Council is composed of 9 laity, 2 pastors and 1 staff person and allows us to move much more swiftly and concisely than the previous structure. Our primary responsibility in this governance structure is to ensure that our decisions, policy making and oversight, hold us accountable to our vision of Transformation In Christ, Changing Lives Inside and Out. We are answerable to you the congregation and most of all to Jesus Christ. While this new Lead Council helps us fulfill our vision, there are some challenges to be aware of. Some may feel that without our former committees the greater church will not be heard. I can assure you that this will not be the case. We still need and value your input and thoughts. We will work hard to keep the lines of communication open. Some may feel that the members of the Lead Council do not have the expertise needed to make some decisions. I think this is correct. We don t have the expertise needed to make all the decisions, but we do know who in the congregation has this expertise and will quickly call on them when necessary. PASTOR S PAGE CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE PASTORS PAGE CONTINUED And the biggest challenge.commmunication.how do we establish a two-way system of communication between the Council and you, the Congregation? It is our plan to keep you informed about what the Council is doing through letters like this one that will be distributed as significant developments on Lead Council occur. In an effort to best communicate with you, here are some news-worthy items from our gatherings so far: *** Last month it was announced that Lead Council approved moving ahead with plans to renovate the balcony in the FEC for use as our Youth Area. Our architect is currently preparing the documents so the project can be put out for bid. Once the bids are received, we will again evaluate the project and hopefully move forward. Because we have undesignated endowment funds to pay for this renovation, we will not be soliciting any money from the congregation or increasing our debt. This is exciting! ***Lead Council is overseeing the hiring process for a Full-time Tech Director to replace Xavier Francis who resigned. This ministry is exciting because it has grown so much 40 volunteers involved with weekly live stream and online worship. We now average over 50 folks a week that worship with us online. ***During its February meeting the Lead council began to discuss the future of First Church and where we see God leading us. Truly God is working among us and through us how exciting it is to think about where He might be calling us to go next as we seek to further live into our vision. So there you have it who we are as a Lead Council, some of the challenges we see ahead, an overview of how we will try to communicate, and what we are currently working on. Thanks for your support and cooperation. We will do our best to keep you informed. In Christ, John Best

5 FIRST CHURCH Williamsport, PA Phone: We re on the Web! and Sunday, March 8 8:00 a.m.-worship, Sanctuary-FEC 9:30 a.m.-worship, Sanctuary-FEC 10:00 a.m.-breakfast, Wesley Hall-NC 11:00 a.m.-contemporary Worship, Stryker Hall-CLC 11:00 a.m.-contemporary Worship, NC 1:15 p.m.-church Volleyball League, Stryker Hall CLC 5:00 p.m.-celebrate Recovery, Sanctuary-FEC 5:00 p.m. Roots of Justice, 105-FEC 6:00 p.m. FUSE*, Wesley Hall/Sanctuary-NC 6:30 p.m.-divorcecare, 202-FEC 6:45 p.m.-women s Bible Study, 201-FEC Monday, March 9 6:00 a.m.-lenten Prayer, Sanctuary-NC 1:15 p.m.-stonecroft Bible Study, Fellowship Room-NC 4:00 p.m.-open Gym, Stryker Hall-CLC 5:00 p.m.-men of Integrity,1508 Elmira St. 5:30 p.m.-gift Women s Group, 212/213-NC 6:15 p.m.-special Olympics Basketball, Stryker Hall-CLC 7:00 p.m.-women of Faith, 1508 Elmira St.0 7:00 p.m.-disciple s Path, Fellowship Room-NC Tuesday, March 10 6:00 a.m.-morning Lenten Communion, Sanctuary-NC 6:30 a.m.-morning Lenten Prayer, Sanctuary-NC 10:30 a.m.. Daughter s of Grace, 101-FEC 10:45 a.m. Truth Seekers, 102-FEC 12:30 p.m.-women s Small Group, 201/202-FEC 3:30 p.m.-tutoring, North Campus 4:00 p.m. Open Gym, Stryker Hall-CLC 6:30 p.m.. Small Group (Garner), 105-FEC 7:00 p.m.-praise Band Practice, CLC & NC 7:00 p.m.-first Place for Health/The Daniel Plan, 201-FEC 9:00 p.m.-evening Lenten Communion, Sanctuary-NC NC = NORTH CAMPUS (1157 Market St.) MAIN CAMPUS CLC = Life Center (601 Market St.)3.48 FEC = Evangelical Center () Wednesday, March 11 6:00 a.m.-early Wednesday Men s Group, 102-FEC 6:00 a.m.-morning Lenten Prayer, Sanctuary-NC 11:00 a.m.-the Flock, 102-FEC FIRST NIGHT SCHEDULE 5:00 p.m.-dinner, Stryker Hall-CLC 5:15 p.m.-wed. Night Worship Experience, Stryker Hall-CLC 6:00 p.m. Marriage Matters 205, FEC Disciple s Path 202, FEC First Friends Fellowship Hall/101/103, FEC Men of God 216, NC Small Group (Johnson) - 102, FEC The Story Fellowship Room, NC Women s Small Group (Konieczny) - 201, FEC Women s Small Group (Chilson) - 105, FEC 7:00 p.m.-chancel Choir 104, FEC Thursday, March 12 6:00 a.m.-early Wednesday Men s Group, 102-FEC 6:00 a.m.-morning Lenten Prayer, Sanctuary-NC 9:30 a.m.-mops, Entire NC 3:30 p.m.-tutoring, North Campus 6:00 p.m.-stephen Ministry, Fellowship Hall NC 6:30 p.m.-iron Men, 202-FEC 7:00 p.m.-volleyball/bible Study, Stryker Hall-CLC 7:00 p.m.-fresh Hope, 101/103-FEC Friday, March 13 6:00 a.m.-morning Lenten Prayer-Sanctuary-NC 6:30 p.m.-special Needs Dance, Stryker Hall-CLC Saturday, March 14 7:00 a.m.-men s Group (Tim Fausnaught), Wegman s 8:30 a.m.-men s Mania Breakfast, Fellowship Hall-FEC CYCLE OF PRAYER March 8-March 14 David, Karen, Justin & Caitlin Chappell; Curt, Julie, Alexandria & Ethan Chilson; Kevin, Kathy, Abby, Alex & Ben Choate; Fred & Charlene Chubb; Jack & Sharlene Clapper; John, Connie, Elizabeth (Coffey) & Kathryn Clapper; Bill, Julie, & Natalie Clees; Billy Clees; Ray & Sharon Clemens; Alisa Cohick; Eric, Charon, Morgan & Christina Comini; Frances Confer; Steve, Lisa, Jordan (Whaley), Lydia (Whaley), Ella & Gabrielle Cosentine; Joseph & Barbara Coup; Brian, Mindy, Dominic, Arianna & Avery Cozzi; Matthew, Lisa, Johnathan, Benjamin & Matison Cramer; Shirley Cranmer; Randy & Michelle Creveling; Mary Crouse; David, Gina & Cooper (Bartle) Cuddeback; Terrance, Michelle. Ashley (Hauser), Tylor (Hauser), Trinity Cuff; Ed, Robin, Isabella & Alaina Dadzie. Weekly Attendance From March 1, 2014 Wednesday Night 210 8:00 FEC 78 9:30 FEC :00 CLC :00 NC 113 Livestream 9:30 21 Livestream 11:00 25 Celebrate Recovery 0 TOTAL 811