Newton, North Carolina

Transcription

1 JANUARY 2016 First United Methodist Church Staff: David Greene, Pastor cell: Lara Willis Greene, Pastor cell: John Coffey, Organist Beth Fowler, Choir Director Michael Roberts, Praise Service Josh Costello, Youth Worship Rose Bibeau, Children s Music Julie Braswell, Children s Ministry Ann Cook, Administrative Assist. Kayla Sigmon, Nursery Ministry Kristi Harvell, Preschool IN TOUCH Loving People into the Kingdom of God in the Heart of Catawba County. First United Methodist Church Newton, North Carolina First Methodist welcomes Bishop Larry Goodpaster 5 th to the th Sunday Unity Service January 31, 2016 at 11:00am 300 N. Main Ave. PO Box 926 Newton, NC fumcnewtonnc.org facebook.com/ fumcnewtonnc Bishop Goodpaster was assigned to serve as the Resident Bishop of the Western North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church in July, 2008, and reassigned in He was elected to the episcopacy in 2000 and served for eight years as the bishop of the Alabama-West Florida Conference in Montgomery, AL. Prior to his election as a bishop, Goodpaster served as a pastor and district superintendent in the Mississippi Conference. His pastoral experience included a five-church rural charge, a new congregation, and several large membership churches. He has taught in a variety of settings and has written articles appearing in various denominational publications. His book, There s Power in the Connection, was published in 2008 by Abingdon Press. For two years ( ) Goodpaster served as President of the Council of Bishops, which includes United Methodist bishops from around the world. In that role, he preached at the opening worship service of the 2012 General Conference in Tampa, FL, and then presided over the opening session. Bishop Goodpaster earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Millsaps College in Jackson, MS, and both the Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Candler School of Theology, Atlanta, GA. He has received honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees from Huntingdon College (Montgomery, AL), Birmingham-Southern College (Birmingham, AL), and Millsaps College (Jackson, MS). He has been married to the former Deborah Cox of Quincy, FL since They have two daughters and four grandchildren.

2 FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH JANUARY 2016 Children's Ministries Sunday School Sundays 10:00 am to 10:45 am New LIVE, curriculum will start off the new year; come see what it is all about! Kids 4 Christ Wednesdays 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm Activity Room Fun filled afternoon for children K-6th grade. We rotate with music, mission, games, and homework stations. Come and be a "Bucket Filler. It is never to late to join us! Kids 4 Christ will sing again, January 31st, don't miss it! First Youth Events in January 2016 Sunday, January 10th 4 to 6 pm Paint Party Saturday, January 16th- Monday, January 18th Winter Retreat 2016 You will not want to miss this. Our youth are invited to join with youth from Waynesville, Asheville, and Charlotte for a terrific retreat weekend. We leave at 7 am for the beautiful mountain retreat at Camp Cedar Creek in Asheville. Wonderful worship, tons of teenagers, outside activities, great music, games, and flowing hot chocolate are just some of the elements of this very memorable weekend. We are back on Mon- day by lunch time. The total cost is $130 per person and scholarships are available. Please call Julie or with any questions. Registration forms, current FUMC medical release forms, and a deposit of $75.00 are due by January 4th. These forms can be found on the church website and at the Welcome Center. The balance of $55.00 will be due by the 16th. Friends are also welcome to attend. firs you h Sunday, January 24th 4 to 6 pm Youth in the Fellowship Hall Sunday, January 31st 4 to 6 pm Youth in the Fellowship Hall

3 FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH JANUARY 2016 Emotionally Healthy Spirituality 85% of Christians today admit to being stuck in their walk with Christ. Find a solution with the EHS Course and go beneath the surface to transform your life! What is the EHS Course? Emotionally Healthy Spirituality will take you on a journey to discovering a relationship with Christ that creates a spiritual revolution. It is not simply another program or study, it truly is a new way of living in Christ's love. Become serious about growing in Christ and discover a slowed down life and rhythms to cultivate a deep personal relationship with Jesus how to integrate emotional health into your spirituality through Biblical themes such as finding God in our losses & disappointments and how our family of origin can impact us from going forward Introductory Session on Tuesday, January 26 at 7:00pm in the Gomedela Room. Come to learn more about the course & pick up materials. Weekly Sessions led by Lara "Willis" Greene begin Tuesday, February 2 and run through March 22. Cost for the materials is $30. Scholarships are available. Register online at or call the church office at Learn more about EHS by visiting Join us for a powerful 8 week journey that will equip you with tools to have a deep interior life with Christ. Will you be my Valentine? We all know how special it is to receive Valentine s cards. You can share that feeling with our special church members who are shut-ins or living in assisted centers. The Care Ministry will have bags and a list of names placed on a table in the breezeway for your convenience from January 24th - February 7th. Just pick up a name list, address your cards and drop them back into the bags before Sunday, February 7 th. If you would like to help deliver the bags of cards to our members, call the church office or contact Julie at juliebbraswell@gmail.com

4 Join us as we celebrate with gratitude the many ways First Methodist has received God s love and shared God s love through the ministries and programs of the Advent Season. Senior Adult Breakfast Youth Lock-out Kids for Christ choir Preschool Christmas Program Chancel Choir Christmas Cantata Kids for Christ drama Community Christmas Party Birthday Party for Jesus Caroling Children s Spontaneous Christmas Pageant

5 A special thank you to all who helped decorate the church for the Advent and Christmas season.

6 FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH JANUARY 2016 Methodist Women The Methodist Women will meet Monday, January 4 at 2:00pm in the Gomedela Room. Marjo Erickson will present the program on Hands, an informative, inspirational, and interactive presentation. We welcome non-members to join us. Note of Thanks The ministers and staff of First United Methodist Church wish to thank you for remembering us at Christmas with holiday treats and beautiful cards. We are truly grateful! Newton Methodist Preschool Updates Dear Church Family, We have news to share with you about staffing changes within the preschool. We congratulate Ms. Kristi Harvell who will be taking over as the interim Director of the preschool. She has been a very beloved PreK teacher at the school for 12 years. We are very excited with her promotion and have every confidence that she will lead the school into the future as a Christ-honoring, child loving and teaching preschool. I am stepping down as the director and moving to an assistant teacher position in the three year classroom. I am asking everyone to pray for my family. My mother is now in advanced-stage Alzheimer's disease and this move will allow me to care for my parents and continue to be part of the preschool staff. We are also adding to our staff, Jennifer Whitener, who has been on maternity leave for the last six months. We welcome her back as the two year lead teacher for the remaining part of the school year. Also, the two year classroom is growing! We will be adding Jessica Parsons as an assistant teacher in our two year classroom on the Tuesday/Thursday schedule. This will add four new students to that classroom! God has been growing our preschool in strength and numbers, we give Him the praise! We want to say thank you to the other classroom teachers who work and love our preschoolers each and every day, Laura Gould, Allison Albert, Jennifer Sigmon, Melissa Thomas, and Melissa Hatchett. Please pray for our team as we minister, serve, and care for the preschool families on behalf of FUMC! Ms. Julia

7 JANUARY BIRTHDAYS Carolyn Brown 1/1 Bethany Carpenter 1/1 Freddie Cook 1/1 Mary Killian 1/1 Lukas Yoder 1/1 Mason Driscoll 1/2 Joseph Bump 1/3 Brandy Burnette 1/3 Crystal Caldwell 1/3 Jerry DeVos 1/3 Kaleb Gibson 1/3 E. Janet Cloninger 1/4 Laurel Phillips 1/4 Bradley Bollinger 1/5 Lindy Caldwell 1/5 James Pawlik 1/5 William Shillito 1/5 C. Ray Shrum 1/5 Frankie Cooke 1/6 Tracie Kelley 1/6 Courtney Brown 1/7 Lori Mayberry 1/7 Staci Miller 1/7 Bradley Byrd 1/8 Rebecca Campbell 1/8 Melissa Herman 1/8 Patricia Britt 1/9 Vance Ervin 1/9 Jamie Gantt 1/9 Nancy Ryan 1/9 Jeffrey Wyatt 1/9 Donna Mull 1/10 Michael Caldwell 1/11 Helen Clapp 1/11 Kristy Smith 1/11 Sandra Hardin 1/12 Matthew Miller 1/12 Harper Donley 1/13 Harrison Jones III 1/13 W. Harold Lynch 1/13 Emma Robison 1/13 John Trivette 1/13 Jo-Anne Beiler 1/14 Bray Hunter 1/14 Jennifer Winstead 1/15 Kirby Blalock 1/17 Wilson Hasty 1/17 Jackie Sigmon 1/18 Melissa Natoli 1/19 Michael Natoli 1/19 Elizabeth Schmitz 1/19 Christy Vanover 1/19 Kathy Boylan 1/20 Caleb Miller 1/20 Sara Sherrill 1/20 Amanda Simpson 1/20 Melinda Arndt 1/21 Lori Deal 1/21 Railey White 1/21 Brett Sigmon 1/22 Walter Stone 1/22 David Lewis 1/23 Elizabeth Rights 1/23 Madyson Fair 1/24 Robert Fowler 1/24 Marion Kelly 1/24 Teresa Coley 1/25 Linda Kosar 1/25 Brenda Saunders 1/25 Beverly Underwood 1/25 Diane Hadley 1/26 Luke Harman 1/27 Maggie Harman 1/27 Lee Burnette 1/28 Christopher White 1/28 Martha Calloway 1/29 R. Bradley McLawhorn 1/29 Faith Couture 1/30 Thomas Dixon 1/31 Michael Laney 1/31 JANUARY WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES Robert & Barbara McLawhorn 1/1 Clark & Teresa Fletcher 1/2 Jeff & Sarah DeBerardinis 1/8 Rob & Debbie Rights Jr. 1/21 Tony & Jill Philmon 1/30 PB & J Sundays Bring a new, plastic container of peanut butter or jelly for Conover School! On the first Sunday of every month, First UMC will celebrate PB & J Sunday, a day designated for everyone to bring either a plastic container of peanut butter or a plastic container of jelly. ECCCM needs Plastic grocery bags are still being collected for ECCCM and may be dropped off at the Welcome Center. However, we have been notified that ECCCM no longer is in need of egg cartons, so at this time they will not be collected at the church. Bingo Tuesday, January 5 1:15pm Gomedela Room Please bring a friend! Twelve games will be played with prizes and refreshments furnished.

8 ON TIME Jan 4 Jan 5 Jan 10 Jan 13 Jan 17 Jan 24 Jan 26 Jan 31 Women s Group III Bingo Welcoming Team Meeting Youth Women s Bible Study Trustees Youth Winter Retreat Youth Preschool Board Meeting Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Introductory Meeting Unity Service Bishop Preaching k4c singing Youth Sunday Sharing Our Gifts Attendance Tithes and Offerings Capital Bldg. Fund Dec , Dec , , Dec , , Dec , , December Memorials Adrian Cloninger Jack Gantt Robe Fund Ed & Rachel Carter Newton Methodist Preschool Dr. Al Bandy Wilma Wilson Waters Music Fund December Honorariums Christi Cranford Eunice Gutyar The Andersons The Andersons The Hollars Jackie Bandy Martha Sowers The Beamans Community Christmas Party Robe Fund Robe Fund The youth of First United Methodist church would like to send out a huge thank you to all who donated funds and their time to the Community Christmas Party. The party was a great success. The Startown students had loads of fun and were very appreciative of their gifts and the party itself. We could not have done this without all the prayer, love, and financial support from our church family. Thank you! A calendar is being prepared for those wishing to furnish altar flowers in Please fill out the form below and return it to the church office to reserve the Sunday of your choice. I will furnish altar flowers in 2016 as follows: Date In Memory/Honor of By