First United Methodist Church

Transcription

1 First United Methodist Church A vital church connecting with God and with each other...driven to serve 516 Kellogg Ave. Ames, Iowa :30 and 11:00 February 12, 2012 THE GATHERING This week in our prayers for the world let us remember especially the people of Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands OPENING VOLUNTARIES Fantasie in Toccata Style Holy, Holy, Holy Cor Kee Piet Post As this music is offered as prayer, let us be sensitive to the Holy Spirit who prepares and opens us to connect with God in Christ today. GREETING, SHARING NEWS OF THE CHURCH ALIVE The congregation welcomes today all members, visitors, and guests to our worship service. Please allow us to acknowledge your presence by completing the friendship pad as it is distributed during the announcements. We invite visitors who are interested in more information about Ames First United Methodist Church to stop by the Welcome Area at the back of the sanctuary for a welcome packet. PASSING OF THE PEACE OF CHRIST CALL TO WORSHIP (from Psalm 30) My God, I cry to you for help, it is you who heals me, Lord. You turned my grief into dancing, stripped me of sorrow an clothed me with joy. So my heart will sing to you, not weep; Lord, my God, I will praise you forever. You have turned our sadness into a joyful dance, You are our Lord, our God. HYMN No. 733 Marching to Zion PSALM PRAYER Almighty God, free us from anxiety over what we cannot control. Restore our deep trust in you so that we can always rejoice and be thankful. Amen.

2 SACRAMENT OF HOLY BAPTISM 8:30 Lucas Jon Lyftogt son of Jason and Nichol Lyftogt CONGREGATIONAL RESPONSE Song - see insert A TIME WITH CHILDREN 11:00 PRAYER FOR BOY SCOUT SUNDAY O God, your will is that all your children should grow into fullness of life. We lift to you the ministry of scouting. We offer you thanks for camping, to teach us that the world is our great home; for study and work, to build character; for service, to see our responsibility to those in need; for encouragement in genuine patriotism and vital faith. Bless the work of scouting, in this place and around the world, that, through its efforts, the young may, like our Lord, increase in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with you and all people. Amen. ANTHEM Largo from Sonata III Trombone Solo Johann Ernst Galliard by Reid Clagett OLD TESTAMENT LESSON 2 Kings 5:1-14 HYMN No. 706 Soon and Very Soon NEW TESTAMENT LESSON I Corinthian 9:24-27 HYMN No Guide My Feet THE GOSPEL Mark 1: WITNESS TO THE WORD Choose Rev. Fred Lewis PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE THE LORD S PRAYER A MOMENT OF QUIET REFLECTION AND PERSONAL COMMITMENT OFFERING OF OUR TITHES AND GIFTS 2

3 OFFERTORY The King of Love My Shepherd Is Charles Gounod OFFERTORY RESPONSE No. 94 Praise God, from Whom all Blessings Flow PRAYER OF DEDICATION We dedicate these gifts of money to your ways of healing, justice, and reconciling love in the world. May we choose to offer ourselves in service of your way of healing, justice, and love in each moment of each day. Amen. DISMISSAL WITH BLESSING HYMN No. 368 My Hope is Built CLOSING VOLUNTARY Trumpet Tune Marc-Antoine Charpentier Special music today is being provided by ISU music performance major, Reid Clagett. Reid attended school at St. Ansgar High School and graduated from Rockford High School. He is a junior at ISU and was just recently awarded one of the winners for the ISU Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition. He has been playing trombone for 12 years and is a student of Dr. Stuart. WE WELCOME YOU! Nursery care is available in Room # 204, in the Christian Education Unit, on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings for children under the age of 5. All of our workers are trained and screened. Children s bulletins are available at the center Sanctuary door, and children s worship bag centers are located by each entrance. Restrooms are located in the East hallway leading into the Christian Education Unit. Ushers are available at the entrance of the sanctuary to assist you with hearing devices or large print bulletins. An emergency phone and defibrillator are located on the wall near the chapel in the west entry. Coffee Hour hosts Feb 13 Missions Committee 3

4 TODAY S YOUTH Today, February 12, the Confirmation class and some of their parents and mentors will be traveling to Des Moines to attend worship in the African-American style at Burn s UMC. The Confirmation class just had a unit on prayer and will soon be studying Baptism and Communion on February 15. On Wednesday nights, our senior high youth are starting a Lenten study titled Journey to Hope with Pastor Bethany as well as Justin and Sadie Anderson as leaders. Be sure to join us on February 19. The children will be singing at the 11:00 service under the direction of Nicole Smith and Vicki Nash. Our older children will be singing Show Love to Others. The 2 and 3 year old children will be singing Jesus Love Me. Vacation Bible School A few years ago, Collegiate United Methodist Church was under construction and we invited their children to attend Vacation Bible School here at First UMC. We had such a wonderful time working together that they offered to host our children when we were under construction. This summer, we re taking them up on the offer! Since we don t know what our building will look like this summer, we re heading across town for VBS. As good guests, we ll be having our summer program at the time they usually hold VBS in June. We ll be meeting in the mornings of June Just like always, we ll need lots of adults and youth from this church to lead the program. See you there! Chancel Choir Schedule Thursday 23 Tuesday 28 No Chancel Choir this week. No Bell Practice for the rest of the month. Chancel Choir ALWAYS welcomes new members! 4

5 ROADMAP FOR LIFELONG WELL-BEING These learning events will be held at the Public Library. Mark your calendars and join us for this amazing journey! All are on Tuesday evenings, and the time is 6:30-7:30 in the community room at the library. There will be speakers from a variety of areas, all focused on a sense of well-being. In preparation for those presentations, we offer a survey that will help each of us evaluate our own sense of well-being. You may access that online at: For those who do not have internet access, we will have copies of the wellness survey in the narthex and in the office for you to pick up. These surveys will evaluate our physical, social, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual health. February 14 Dr. Mary Fraser, Director of Pastoral Care and Counseling Office for the Iowa Annual Conference of the UMC. She will speak about finding our way toward spiritual health (with a cameo appearance of the Bishop of the Iowa Annual Conference). February 28 Vickie Newell, Coordinator of Older Adults and Volunteer Services at Mary Greeley Medical Center, will talk on finding the path to community engagement. March 20 Jenna Van Winkle, a member of the Ames Blue Zone Advisory Board. "Well-Being: What State are you in?" This session focuses on the impact of healthy living and healthy lifestyle choices. The Blue Zone Project of the Iowa Health Initiative will be featured and how Ames can be a model community for Iowa. March Chris Cook, PhD, Associate Professor, ISU, Department of Human Development and Family Science, will talk on the role of community support and psychological well being in older persons who remain in their own homes. April 3 Peter Martin, Director of Gerontology Program, ISU, will speak on connecting the generations. NEEDING HELPERS FOR ASH WEDNESDAY The season of Lent begins on February 22 with an Ash Wednesday worship service at 6:00 p.m. Prior to the evening s worship at 5:10, we will be hosting a soup supper along with our friends from First Christian Disciples of Christ and UCC. We need 4 volunteers to bring a crock pot of soup each (by 5 p.m.) and to stay to help serve it, as well as appearing as our church hosts. One of those soups needs to be a real vegetarian option. We need 4 other volunteers to bring a loaf of fresh bread plus a relish dish. Additionally, we need 4 more volunteers to prepare beverages and to be here to oversee/help with the cleanup. A sign-up for these tasks will be placed on the bulletin board in fellowship hall by the flower chart and utility calendar. If you have questions, contact Pastor Fred. 5

6 The Return of the Prodigal Son a Lenten Study at FUMC In The Return of the Prodigal Son, author Henri Nouwen takes Rembrandt's famous painting of the same name and brings it (and the parable) to life, enabling readers to enter the story and find hope in the love that IS the parable. Beginning Wednesday, March 7 and continuing through Wednesday, April 4 (with no meeting March 21), we'll meet in the Parlor at 10:30 to bring this parable into our hearts. We will plan our time so that you may also attend the Lenten Lunches if you wish. Please register by calling the church office at by March 1. Books are available in the church office for $ Questions?? Contact Mary Dreier at or mary@souloftheprairie.com. Lenten Luncheons! Theme: Seeing God through the Eyes of the Disciples This year s lunches will feature a time of worship in which two of the twelve disciples will make an appearance through a special reading. Here is the schedule-- February 29: Nathanael and Simon the Zealot March 7: James the Younger and Thaddeus March 14: Andrew and Matthew March 21: Judas Iscariot and Philip March 28: Simon Peter and James April 4: John and Thomas At these lunches, we will have time to reflect upon how Christ invites us to: 1) Make disciples of Jesus Christ as we witness by word and deed --Acts 1:8 2) Develop and renew Christian congregations and communities --Luke 10:1-2 3) Alleviate human suffering --Matthew 25:40 4) Seek justice, freedom, and peace --Micah 6:8 Bring a sack lunch with you to the church s fellowship hall every Wednesday at noon in Lent, from February 29 through April 4. We ll provide coffee and water. Be sure to invite a friend to join you. $17, was collected last weekend for the various ministries and missions of our church. Approximately $56,500 each month will meet our primary monthly ministry budget. This week s offering will go towards that monthly total and will help us to continue to transform and change lives. You may further stay informed about our financial stewardship as a church by reading the monthly newsletter. Thank you for your loyal and steadfast contributions to our church s ministries and missions. 6

7 Jesus is NOT looking for fans He s looking for followers. Followers who understand that There is no forgiveness without repentance. There is no salvation without surrender. There is no life without death. There is no believing without following. Twenty times in the New Testament, Jesus Christ issued a compelling and challenging invitation: Follow Me. Jesus is not interested in mere fans. He doesn't want enthusiastic admirers. He wants completely committed followers. NOT A FAN a 6 week DVD Small Group Study will begin on Wednesday, March 21 st at 6:30 p.m. in the Sarah room. Space is limited to 12 participants. Please contact Rich & Cami McColley at or the church office to sign up. YOU can play an important role in our Stephen Ministry Because you may know of a friend, neighbor, co-worker, or relative who is going through a difficult time and who could benefit from the focused care, encouragement, and support of a Stephen Minister. If you know of someone who is hurting, talk with one of our Stephen Leaders: Pastor Deanna Pullen, Carrie Copley, or Cami McColley. They can talk with you about how we can connect the person you know with one of our Stephen Ministers. It's a great way for you to show how much you care! CARE ZONE UPDATE Have you wondered what has happened to the Care Zone effort that was started a few years ago? It was an attempt to divide the church membership into neighborhood groups with designated Care Zone Leaders. Because of the nature of those areas, we have found that it was not always a viable program, so we have discontinued that Care Zone program. However, we are still wanting to work with the whole concept and idea of having neighborhoods defined, so that if a new member wants to get acquainted with someone close by, we can still refer to a map of the neighborhood zones. Our sincere thanks to those who acted and served as Care Zone Leaders. Considerable effort was made to promote and sustain this program, but we hope to now learn from it and grow forward into something else, something new. 7

8 CHURCH STAFF Rev. Fred Lewis, Senior Minister/Lead Pastor Rev. Bethany Johnson, Associate Pastor/Minister of Youth & Young Adults Rev. Deanna Pullen, Associate Pastor/Minister of Visitation & Adult Spiritual Formation Ellen Johnsen, Director of Christian Education/Children & Families Deb Benefield, Director of Office & Communications Jo Durlam, Business Manager Myrna Cakerice, Organist/Director of Choirs Steve Pelz, Custodian Zach Irving, Sunday Custodian Church office hours: Mon-Thurs: 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. Friday 8:30 to 4:30 Ushers 8:30 Nelson, Vohs, Bluhm 11:00 Sankey, Crotty, Studer, and Clark Acolytes: 8:30 Katie Murray & Samantha Carney 11:00 Beverly Hawley & Gabe Carney Gifts to Utilities: Becky Jordan Roy Cakerice Lee Jordan Carstens for Feb. 5 and Feb. 14. Sunday, Feb 12 Boy Scout Sunday 8:30 & 11 Worship Service Baptism Lucas Lyftogt 9:45 Sunday School 11:00 Children s Church 2:00 Al Anon/L 5:00 UMM Valentine Banquet 7:00 NA/L Monday, Feb 13 5:30 FAF/FH Tuesday, Feb 14 Valentine s Day 10:00 Quilters/Sarah Sandy 11:30 Staff Lunch 5:30 FAF/FH 6:30 Winter Wondering/Public Library Wednesday, Feb 15 10:00 WWW/L 4:00 Confirmation 6:00 Wed. Meal 6:30 Kids Club Youth Groups Adult Classes 7:00 AA Thursday, Feb 16 9:30 Golden K 4:00 Free Clinic 5:30 FAF/FH 6:00 Band Practice 6:30 FAF Head Chef mtg Friday, Feb 17 5:30 FAF/FH Saturday, Feb 18 11:30 FAF/FH 5:30 SAF IN OUR THOUGHTS Known to be Hospitalized: Fred Walker Honoring Our Military: Ethan Abbey, Jared Chumley, Greg Wheelock & Chris Benson 8