From the Pastor s Desk

Transcription

1 Dear friends, From the Pastor s Desk We have a large task ahead to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World. This means connecting people to the power, purpose, and peace of God through the ministries of the First United Methodist Church. This means acts of mercy done during Mission Weekends, food pantry, UMW layette kits, back to school supplies done in ways that are more face to face with the people we help. This means acts of piety done through regular worship and Bible study by our congregation while inviting others to come experience worship and study as well. This means prayer. We pray for our leaders and for our committees and teams as they seek to guide us in our work. We pray for our community. To enable our mission financially our members and friends give willingly and often to the ministries of the church. The task of making a great impact for Christ in our community may seem large with limited resources, but as my mother always used to say, When the going gets tough, the tough get going! To that I d like to add, When the going gets tough, the tough pull together. Once at a state fair, the organizers advertised a pulling contest. The first-place horse won the pulling contest by pulling a sled with 4,500 pounds. The second- place horse could manage 4,000 pounds. The two owners decided to see what both horses could do pulling together. They pulled 12,000 pounds. The synergy of teamwork added 3,500 pounds to what the horses were able to accomplish alone. Two heads are better then one, two backs stronger than one, combined resources more potent than individual assets. Please, give faithfully of your prayers, presence, financial gifts, service and witness. Together with the strategies and vision markers coming from our Vision Team and featured in the sermons, we can make even more disciples for Jesus Christ reaching beyond our walls. We ll bring new folks into the arms of God. Never forget that we always have the power of knowing that together we are stronger than the sum of each individual because of Jesus promise, Where two or more are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them. We are not alone. We are working together to be successful at God s Kingdom work. Your part is essential. God s part is boundless. See you Sunday, Pastor Carol Events and Meetings 05 Trustee Meeting at 5:30 p.m.in Parlor 07 SPRC Meeting at 7:00 p.m. in Parlor 09 One Board Workshop at 8:30 a.m. in Fellowship Hall 21 SPRC Meeting at 7:00 p.m. in Parlor 25 Finance Meeting at 5:15 p.m. in Parlor 25 Church Council at 6:00 p.m. in Carroll Building. Sew Happy 5 at 10:00 a.m. in the Carroll Building 50+ Games 13 at 12:00 Noon, Bridge in the Carroll Building Prayer Shawl Ministry Tuesday 19 9:30 a.m. in the Parlor. Senior game Night 26 at 6:00 p.m. in the Carroll Building Help Stock the Store Ladies don t forget the Country Store will be open at the Feast of Goodness in November. Canned fruits, pickles, vegetables and homemade items are all needed. Thank you, Betty Cooke Communion Communion offering for 3rd is designated for the United Methodist Women (UMW) hands on project. This years the ladies are putting together layette kits Can you help out on Sundays? We are looking for several people to help with running the visual part of our worship. If you ever wonder how it works and would like to see if you might like to help please contact Dorenda Smith at dorenda.smith@gmail.com.

2 First United Methodist Church 422 South Magnolia Palestine, TX Phone: Fax: Sr. Pastor: Rev. Carol Turner 06/29/2016 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED FUMC 2016 District Campers We would like to thank the counselors: Julie Bell, Holly Foye-West, Stephen Smith, Jesse Bourgeois, Allyson Penny and Kris Mathis. Without your dedication and support we would not have been able to go to District Camp. Thank You!! NONPROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID PALESTINE TX PERMIT NO. 74 Surprise! The Victor Class hosted a surprise 90th Birthday Party for Celia Smith in the Dale Smith Memorial Garden on Sunday, June 19. Family, class members and church members surprised her as she came down the back stairs. Everyone enjoyed the fellowship while having punch and birthday cake. Helen Stevens and Wanda Thompson provided lovely violin and piano music for the occasion. Volume 45, No. 07 June 29, 2016 First United Methodist Church 422 South Magnolia Street, Palestine, Texas (903) One Service and 10 A.M. 3 rd My name is Allyson Penny. I'm 21 and I am currently studying speech communications at the University of Texas at Tyler. I live at Wesley House in Tyler, where I serve as a student leader and resident assistant. I am in the process of discerning my call to ordained ministry and hope to become an elder in the United Methodist Church. I have been active in church most of my life, participating in Texas Youth Academy and the Texas Annual Conference Pastoral Internship Project where I was in ministry at First UMC Lindale. I look forward to serving at First UMC Palestine as a summer intern. I will be working with children and youth and performing other ministry duties as needed. It is going to be a great summer with the Lord! Jodi Bainum is our new preschool director. She received her u n d e r g r a d u a t e d e g r e e i n Early Childhood Education at Stephen F. Austin and her Master of E d u c a t i o n t h r o u g h t h e University of Texas at Tyler. She was a public school teacher for nine years. She has worked for Palestine ISD and Elkhart ISD as a k i n d e r g a r t e n a n d p r e s c h o o l t e a c h e r. Jodi has been married to her husband, Shane Bainum, for five years. They have two boys. Kaï is 2 1/2 years old and Reïd is 6 months old. 17th :30-8:00 p.m.

3 VCI Team Reports Family Ministries We are so happy that so many of you took part in the family challenge. We hope that each of you found it to be both a joyous and beneficial time for your families. If you participated we hope that having done it for this long you will be able to incorporate this time into your family s busy week from here on out so that it will continue to be a blessing to you. For those of you who did not get the chance to participate in the challenge, we want you to know that even though the contest has ended it is never too late to take up the challenge. We would encourage you to make the time to have a family activity each week and give each other your undivided attention for at least one meal a day. We believe that you will find it a blessing. Just ask those who have already taken up the challenge. We continue to work on planning programing that we pray will be beneficial not only to the families here at our church but those in the community as well. As we move forward in this endeavor we ask for your prayers. We would also ask that if you have any ideas that you think would be beneficial to our families or just families in general that you reach out to one of us and share your ideas. Blessings, The Family Ministries Team Elizabeth Attaway, Ty Cobble, Katy Estrada, Cynthia Jordan, Kris Mathis, Mistye Ormand, Larry Weber Kids were so excited to see Mrs. Stacey! Stacey came back to sub for the Preschool this past week. Pastor Carol presented her with a gift for her nine years of service as our Preschool Director. Drone Spies on Church Friday morning it was reported that a drone was flying over the church Sanctuary. As the church office investigated the incident, we believe the drone to be owned by Steve Herrington. With the drone, Steve took pictures of the church roof and other areas, not visible from the ground, to help the Trustees know what repairs are needed. Thank you Steve for your help! Dear Members of the United Methodist Women: It has been a little over a month ago that we came to your church and were treated just wonderfully. We enjoyed every minute of our time together. The Episcopal Church Women have never been treated to lunch with such kindness and goodness. From beginning to end we enjoyed being a part of the UMW Meeting. Your luncheon and the tables were outstanding. To top it off you gave us a little cut-out of a pitcher with a Proverb written on it. I placed this on my refrigerator door and think of you each and every time I see it. God s blessings to each of you and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. My very best of wishes, Muriel Mizell and Episcopal Church Women Attendance Memorial Gift in Memory Of Imogene Seals Joe & Gay Bryant Jim & Karen Parsons Ken & Virginia Kuykendall Helen Lightfoot Reba Pryor Ken & Virginia Kuykendall Sunday School June June June June :00 a.m. Service June June June June :00 a.m. Service June June June June Rene Templin Celia Smith Alma Harris Bill & Sara Nell Bible Marjorie Braly J.C. & Shirley Williamson Reba Pryor Jim & Karen Parsons Stewardship Report Finance Report In Honor Of Phil & Sharon Jenkins Doyle & Kay Callender Steve Jenkins Family Linda Swinney Celia Smith Sharon Fisher June 05 - $ 13, June 12 - $ 9, June 19 - $ 5, June 26 - $ 4, June Offering Total $ 33, YTD Offering $ 216, YTD Budget Needed $ 223, Communion Offering June Crisis Center & Hope Station $ Carroll Building Renovation/Repair Total $ 7,019.00

4 Youth Events 3 - Church Picnic after 10:00 a.m. service 6-6:00 p.m. Youth Cooking Class - at the home of Danny & Dorenda Smith 10 - Pools and Parables - at the home of John & Paula McAughan 13 - Messy Game Night Helping with VBS 5:30-8:00 p.m Pools & Parables 27 - Visit to Nursing Home 31- Pools & Parables Renovations began Tuesday on the Carroll Building, home of the Victor Sunday School Class. This is John McAughan hard at work removing the old wall covering! Thanks John! ONE BOARD Saturday, 9 8:30 11:30 A.M. FELLOWSHIP HALL Who should come: Members of Church Council, Finance, Trustees, SPRC, all VCI teams, and others who are interested. Child Care Provided Watermelon Explosion Events and Meetings One Worship Service 3rd 10:00 a.m. One Board Workshop 9th, 8:30-11:30 a.m. Understanding ONE BOARD Structure led by Rev. H. Michael Tyson Vacation Bible School 17th - 21st Church Conference August 7, Vote on One Board Retirement Reception For Pastor Carol -- August 13 Back to School Sunday August 21st United Methodist Women Sunday August 28th Mission Weekend 3rd Weekend - September 9th & 10th Marriage Retreat November 12th Youth News With graduation behind us (congratulations once again to Sammi Stuart and Bri Minter) the youth group has hit the ground running this summer and has a full slate of activities planned so they do not get bored. We began this summer by hosting an adult vacation bible school which had as its theme I Corinthians 13:13. Each week we talked about one of the key components of that verse (faith, hope, and love). In addition we did a craft each week that correlated with the topic of the week. We also played games together and had music time. Each day was rounded out by having a meal together. The youth are so thankful to the two dozen adults that joined us and we are looking forward to seeing you all back next year with some of your friends. In addition, on the 12 th of June we officially welcomed our confirmands from this year as well as Allyson Penny our new youth intern for this summer to the group by spending an afternoon eating hot dogs and ice cream sundaes as well as swimming and fishing thanks to the hospitality of Mike and Pam Denson. It was a fun afternoon that I know I and they will not soon forget. Then we loaded up both church vans and took twenty two kids to summer camp at Lakeview. It was an amazing week and the kids had a blast. In fact, they sang all the way home. On behalf of all of those students who went to camp I want to thank everyone in the congregation who contributed to the camp fund this year. Without each of your generosity it would not have been possible for some of the kids who went to camp to go and they would have missed out on what I know for many of them was a life changing experience. You as a church family continue to bless us and I probably do not tell you enough how grateful for you I and they are. After taking a short break to celebrate 4 th the good times will just continue to roll. We will kick off the month with a cooking class on the 6 th. Then we will have Pools and Parables on Sunday 10 th, 24 th, and 31 st. Finally, you will want to mark your calendars for 17 th 21 st from 5:30 P.M. 8:00 P.M. as vacation bible school returns to our church. Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Allyson or myself at the church office. Blessings, Kris VBS Coming Soon! We are looking for beach themed items to use for decorating and people willing to help decorate. We also need people to sign-up to help in class rooms.

5 Our 2016 First United Methodist Church Vision Statement: We boldly share God's grace through faithful witness, sacrificial service and powerful worship. Our Vision Story Just as rural electrification once brought electricity and, therefore, light to a dark, agrarian landscape across most of our nation, so the First United Methodist Church of Palestine will bring the Light of the World, Jesus Christ, to those in darkness in our community. Our church in the next five years will build a reputation as the hands and heart of Jesus Christ in our community by connecting the power of the Holy Spirit to every home in our community through faithful witness and sacrificial service. With Christ as the source of our power, the church becomes the power generating plant, its turbines turned by the wind the Holy Spirit and its ministries channeling the Power to reach into the homes of our community. The Power travels through lines of the congregation s faithful witness and sacrificial service. As the hands and heart of Jesus in our community, our members and friends plug in and charge up through the power of the Holy Spirit during powerful worship at FUMC. Each Sunday our members gather in the sanctuary connecting to the power plant of God experiencing powerful worship and recharging their spirits in order to witness and serve the empty souls they meet during the week. Once transformed from standby status to fully charged, members become power lines to deliver the message of God's grace from the PowerStation to the world. We increase capacity of young people's ministries by plugging in leaders who become conductors of biblical leadership, creating a spark of excitement for God's Word. The congregation also recharges our spiritual batteries and our prayer connections by providing more prayer opportunities in our services and by encouraging private and group prayer. These prayer opportunities prepare our hearts for powerful worship and for movement into the community through the generation of the Holy Spirit. The PowerStation conveys new energy both within its members and to our community through a monthly mission focus which combines hands-on mission projects with its financial gifts to community ministries. Thus we give of our time, talents, and treasure to illuminate our community as the hands and heart of Christ. As we continue to become fully charged Christians, we will seek out at least 15 members per year to identify their spiritual gifts and get them plugged into the power sharing grid. Through these and other ministries FUMC conveys the power of Christ and what he can do to transform lives. Introduction First United Methodist Church Palestine, Texas June 27, 2016 Vision Team Report to the Church Council During the last several months as the Vision Team worked to write a vision statement, I was often asked, How's that Vision Statement coming? Frequently, I would reply, Well, now I have a better understanding of the inherent difficulties intrinsic to the deliberations of the Constitutional Convention of Writing or creating a vision statement for our church was a similar exercise. We shared our opinions; we all prayed for guidance from the Lord; and, in the end, we all agreed upon the vision statement I will unveil shortly (on a page to follow). First. I want to recognize the members of the Vision Team: Bill Tatum, Celia Smith, Charlene Price, Al Lightfoot, Virginia Kuykendal and Katy Estrada. Thank you for your dedication and faithfulness to our assignment. Also, I want to especially recognize Pastor Carol who served the committee with patience when I lost mine, with spiritual guidance when our vision became foggy and for praying us in and out of meetings with a devotion, commitment and fervor no one else could have equaled. Thank you all for your love for the Lord and for FUMC. I also want to thank our VCI coach, Marilyn Wadkins. Marilyn introduced us to a book that guided us successfully through the vision writing process. The book is titled God Dreams written by Will Mancini. God Dreams is a clear and organized step by step approach to the vision creation process. I heard every member of the committee compliment God Dreams for its clarity and its organized sense of progression. Gary Connor, Vision Team Captain

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