First UMC s Mission Statement To love God and neighbor and be a voice of hope. VISIT US AT CHURCH

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1 First United Methodist Church 144 Cedar Street, Corning, NY (office) / (fax) ~~~ AUGUST 2016 ~~~ fumchurch@stny.rr.com Web Site: Com. Center: First UMC s Mission Statement To love God and neighbor and be a voice of hope. VISIT US AT CHURCH Sunday Worship 10:00 AM Adult Forum will resume in September Office Hours: Monday Thursday 1:00 4:00 PM Please note that the office is closed one afternoon a week. It is usually Friday, but can vary from week to week OUR STAFF: Pastor: Rev. Constance Seifert Administrative Assistant: Kathy Scudder Treasurer: Cheryl Howitt Organist: Charlotte Cook

2 1 When ye pray, say: Our Father which art in heaven. Luke 11:2 Does anyone else remember the Bugs Bunny cartoon where Bugs and Daffy end up in a cave with Ali Baba s treasure? (I am a major Bugs Bunny fan.) Daffy jumps up and down on Bugs Bunny s head until he disappears back into the hole they had both just popped out of, all the while screaming, Mine! Mine! Mine! The treasure does not belong to Daffy but he spends the entire cartoon battling unsuccessfully with anyone and everything that tries to get him to share this treasure. Daffy wants the treasure. He is determined to have it and to have it all to himself. His line Mine! Mine! Mine! is repeated many times throughout this cartoon. We all have such moments of Mine! Mine! Mine! madness; times when we don t want to share. It s normal. Sharing doesn t always happen spontaneously. Sometimes we have to learn the hard way like Daffy does in the cartoon. The treasure he tries to make his own clearly belonged to someone else. When we have our Mine! Mine! Mine! moments, Bugs Bunny will probably not be on hand to point out the error of our ways and successfully sabotage our selfish efforts. Hopefully, our conscience will remind us of all those lessons we learned in Sunday School, Kindergarten and from our parents about sharing. Hopefully, we will give up our selfish ways much more quickly and painlessly than Daffy did. The opening sentence of The Lord s Prayer helps us to remember that God is the most important reality we share as Christians. This prayer (which can be found in Matthew 6:9-15, Luke 11:2-4) is meant to be prayed as a group, a group committed to sharing; caring for each other the way Jesus taught, starting with the fact that we share God as our loving parent. God is not Mine! Mine! Mine! God was, is and always will be OUR Father. God loves our friends, our families and even our enemies. That s not an easy truth to accept. But God s love is not Mine! Mine! Mine! God s love was, is and always will be meant to be shared. It is not a treasure that we can claim as our own or selfishly hoard. Love is a blessing God shares with us and expects us to share with others. We may have a precious moment when we claim it as Mine! Mine! Mine! But that moment must be followed by growing in grace, knowing that God s love demands to be shared. Our Father made that abundantly clear when Jesus was born. As Christians, we must make it abundantly clear to all we meet. God s love is OURS! And God is OUR Father. And unlike Daffy Duck, we are ready, willing and able to share. Shalom, Pastor Connie

3 WORSHIP MEMO 2 July 31 green 11th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 107 Give thanks to the Lord because he is good. OT: Hosea 1:1-11 I led them with bands of human kindness, cords of love. Epistle: Colossians 3:1-11 In the image of Christ, there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all things and in all people. Gospel: Luke 12:13-21 Guard yourself against all kinds of greed Eat, drink and enjoy yourself! Sermon: Greed, Gratitude or Gluttonous Glee? Hymns: 443 O God Who Shaped Creation, 373 Nothing Between 2152 Change My Heart, O God August 7 green 12th Sunday after Pentecost Sacrament of Holy Communion Psalm 50 From the rising sun to where it sets, God speaks OT: Isaiah 1:1-20 Hear the Lord s words, Sodom. Listen to God, Gomorrah! Epistle: Hebrews 11 Faith is the realty of what we hope for, the proof of what we don t see. Gospel: Luke 12:32-40 Sell your possessions and give to those in need. Where your treasure is, there year heart will be also. Sermon: Fear Factor, Faith Facts Hymns: 441 What Does the Lord Require; 2236 Gather Us In; Gary s hymn (tune is 733 Marching to Zion) August 14 green 13th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 80 You brought a vine out of Egypt. OT: Isaiah 5:1-7 Let me sing for my loved one a love song for his vineyard. Epistle: Hebrews 11 By faith they crossed the Sea of Reeds as if on dry land. Gospel: Luke 12:49-56 I came to cast fire upon the earth. Sermon: The Many Faces of Fire Hymns: 541 See How Great a Flame Aspires; 435 O God of Every Nation; 572 Pass It On August 21 green 14th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 71 I ve taken refuge in you, Lord. OT: Jeremiah 1:4-10 Before I created you in the womb I knew you... Epistle: Hebrews 12:18-29 But you have drawn near to Mount Zion. Gospel: Luke 13:10-17 She was bent over and could not stand up straight Sermon: Hypocrisy, Healing and Holy Living Hymns: 273 Jesus Hands Were Kind Hands; 266 Heal Us, Emmanuel, Hear Our Prayer; 2051 I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry

4 FROM YOUR TRUSTEES As we sweat away these days in July, we certainly are just trying to survive the heat and not thinking about this winter. Yet we all know that winter is on its way. So now is the perfect time for us to do some major work on the boiler system in the church. Fred Austin will be doing repairs and refurbishing the boiler during the month of August. The bad news is that this will cost around $15,000. Gulp! Once again, we must ask for your help in helping to cover this major expense. If you can, please send a check to the church office and write Boiler Repairs in the memo line. We will all appreciate the heat in January! UPCOMING EVENTS GOLF TOURNAMENT The 13 th Annual Don Pruden Memorial Golf Tournament, sponsored by the Campbell United Methodist Men s Group, will take place on August 13 at the Pinnacle State Park. Registration starts at 8:30 am; cost is $45 per player. For more information, contact Dan Stark ( ) or Russ Youngs ( ). 3 FALLING LEAVES FESTIVAL Mark your calendar for this year s Falling Leaves Festival on Saturday, September 24, from 10 am 8 pm. The festival will again be held at Watson Homestead (9620 Dry Run Road in Painted Post.) There will be Native American social dancing, drums and flute music, arts and crafts, demonstrations, storytelling, food and more. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit MEMBER NEWS AUGUST BIRTHDAYS 8/1 Arlene Gerwig 8/3 Judy Pittman 8/6 David Filbert 8/15 Morgan Malarkey 8/17 Kaley Beall 8/21 Lois Janes 8/23 Nancy Arkin 8/31 Bob Corneau 8/31 Leah Beall SYMPATHIES Our prayers and sympathies go out to Debbie Beall and family. Debbie s mother, Judith Cowden, passed away on July 9. Her service was held here at First UMC on Monday, July 18. AUGUST ANNIVERSARIES 8/3 Larry & Arlene Gerwig 8/6 Larry & Sun Sample 8/10 Tom & Debbie Beall 8/20 Gary & Adrienne Bernhardt 8/22 Donald & Barbara Deats 8/22 Mike & Lisa Cain

5 FAITH IN ACTION 4 FOOD PANTRY The warm winds continue to blow as the sun shines brightly throughout the summer months. Children are out of school so many households see a slight increase in their daily nutritional needs. To help the Corning Community Food Pantry offset the need to those who deal with food insecurity, please consider adding canned tuna and cereal to your routine grocery list and donate these items to our pantry. Both of these items are always in demand at the pantry. Clients also request the following personal items: shampoo, detergent and deodorant. In June 2016 we served 542 households, 686 children,1172 adults and 120 elderly for a total of 1978 individuals served at Corning Community Food Pantry. This summer there are 10 locations throughout the Corning area where all children 18 years and younger can enjoy meals and enrichment programs. For additional information on this valuable program, call HELPLINE. Enjoy your summer. We acknowledge your contributions and awareness of food insecurity in our area. Thank you for your help. SUNDAY MORNING VOLUNTEERS New rotation schedules will be sent out soon and we are in need of a few more good men & women! Needed are people for ushering, counting, liturgist. If you are interested in helping with any of these ministries, please contact the church office. ALTAR FLOWERS Donating the Sunday altar flowers is a wonderful way to remember a loved one or to celebrate a special event. Below are the available dates to donate flowers. Just let the church office know what date you want, who it is for, then call your local florist to have the flowers delivered. August 7, 14, 21, 28 September 4, 11, 18, 25 October 9, 16, 30 November 6, 13, 20, 27 December 4, 11, 18

6 AUGUST 2016 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY :00 Chapter, PO 7 Food Pantry Cheer Camp, 3 rd Fl Cheer Camp, 3 rd Fl 12:00 Meals on Wheels, CL 5:00 SPRC, PO :30 Finance, PO 6:30 Trustees, L Newsletter Deadline S = Sanctuary L = Library CL = Cheney Lounge PO = Pastor s Office

7 VOLUNTEER SCHEDULE Below is a list of those scheduled to help with Sunday morning ministries. Please note that there are many opportunities available! If you are interested and able to help out in any of these ministries, please contact the church office. If you would like to donate the flowers or bulletins, please contact the church office. LITURGIST USHERS FINANCIAL RECORDERS FLOWERS BULLETINS 7 th Cheryl Howitt George Beall 1. Not scheduled 14 th Dianne Roe Judy Pittman 1. Not scheduled 21 st Jerry Wright John Helfinstine 1. Not scheduled 28 th Chuck Baldwin Donna Leach 1. Not scheduled