the Beacon September 2017 IN THIS ISSUE Seeking to be a Lighthouse guiding people in Worship, Discipleship, and Christian Service.

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1 Seeking to be a Lighthouse guiding people in Worship, Discipleship, and Christian Service. the Beacon First United Methodist Church Marion, NC September 2017 Keep Moving, Keep Making Keep Ministering Dear Friends of Marion First UMC, Whew! Summertime absences and low giving is almost over. If you are present this coming Labor Day Sunday you will notice in the bulletin that offerings for the month of August were 2/3 s of what is needed to meet budget needs. There is good news in that number. I have served churches that offerings ran closer to half of budget needs throughout the months of June, July, and August before rebounding after Labor Day. In that environment you always hoped to have a little extra in the operating account at the end of May. I might even stress the word hoped. There s good news again for us in that situation because some are able to give their pledge in advance of the coming year and this forms a fund we call the budget reserves. The reserves are not used until monthly expenses exceed monthly offerings. We have been using them the past three months to make ends meet. The bad news about paying our church bills is that many come due every month no matter what. Among those recurring items are utilities-gas, water, phone, internet, and electricity. There s a monthly lease on the copier. Employees are paid and payroll taxes must be filed. Insurance must be paid on a regular basis. If you manage those kind of things in your personal budget you know you can t skip them in the summer. You also know that these are not the only items that you wind up paying for in a month. One way for a church to make up the shortfall is to put off paying the full amount of apportionments. That is a tactic we have used as well. If you wonder where the conference spends apportionments the answer is in a lot of places. We have to look no further than Hurricane Harvey to see one of those If you give in the next month to UMCOR Hurricane Harvey disaster relief you can be assured all of the money actually goes to provide relief. That is possible because UMCOR s day in and day out expenses that can t be skipped are already taken care of by apportionments. IN THIS ISSUE A Word from Pastor Warren Page 1 Members in Action Page 2 September Calendar Page 2 Children and Youth Page 3 Memorials Page 4 September Birthdays Page 5 UMCOR has a reputation of helping long after the news cameras have moved on to other events. I would not be painting a complete picture of our giving habits if I didn t mention how readily funds are raised for special items like the Emergency Assistance Fund, Make An Impact, or College Support for Homeless Candidates. When funds are needed for these or other special items, the money seems to show up, and I say kudos to you for your response. However, I would be remiss if I didn t let you know that preachers go bald when operating accounts are just scrapping by, and your right, I was bald before I got here. See you in September, Pastor Warren

2 Acolytes Zeb Kincaid, Clara McCartha Tyler Young, Eavan Smith Tessa Ross, Hannah Settlemyre McKinna Young, Daniel Young Children s Church Jerri Young Michele Settlemyre Angela Bryan Ginny Rhodes Sunday School Elementary Debra Boldon Youth Jerri Young Lector Jane Kelly Thomas Moomaw Debra Boldon Chris Goudreau Sound Chris Wilson Coffee Clean-up Emmaus Forum Class Monday Counting Teams Sept. 5 Norman Guthrie Sept. 11 Linda Davidson, Ann Arney Sept. 18 Jimmy Blanton, Danny Cook Sept. 15 Cathy Cook, Ruth Sander Ushers Tues., Sept. 5 Wed., Sept. 6 Thurs., Sept. 7 Sat., Sept. 9 Sun., Wed., Sept. 13 Thurs., Sept. 14 Fri., Sept. 15 Sun., Sept 17 Mon., Sept. 18 Wed., Sept. 20 Thurs., Sept. 21 Sun., Mon., Sept. 25 Wed., Sept. 27 Fri., Sept. 29 Page 2 THE BEACON September Calendar 6:00 pm-prayer & Evangelism Meeting 6:00 pm-friends in Faith 7:00 pm-psalter Choir 6:00 pm-hand Bell Practice 4:00 pm-salsman Wedding 12:00 pm-youth Parent Meeting (right after worship) 9:00 am-coffee Club 10:00 am-morning Circle 5:30 pm-wonderful Wed. Meal 6:00 pm-friends in Faith Youth Music Practice Pre-teen Puppets Adult Study 7:00 pm-psalter Choir 6:00 pm-hand Bell Choir 6:45 pm-movie Night 6:00 pm-spirit Fest 6:00 pm-ecec Board Meeting 6:00 pm-trustees Meeting 7:00 pm-finance Meeting 5:30 pm-wonderful Wed. Schedule 6:00 pm-hand Bell Choir 3:00 pm-mcdowell Community Unity Service East McDowell Middle School Auditorium 6:00 pm-church Council Meeting 9:00 am-coffee Club 5:30 pm-wonderful Wed. 5:30 pm-fall Festival Wonderful Wednesday Schedule 5:30 pm Wed. Night Meal 6:00 pm Adult Bible Study Friends in Faith Children s Music Pre-Teen Puppet Ministry Youth Specialty Music Practice 7:00 pm Psalter Choir Practice

3 Youth and Children s News Wednesdays 6:00-7:00 pm Friends in Faith Children s Music Pre-Teen Puppet Ministry Youth Specialty Music Practice Sundays 9:45-10:45 Sunday School Ages 7-18 KIDS IN ACTION For ages 3-6 Please join us for fun and fellowship! Adult classes are available for parents during these times. Announcements Friends In Faith will begin full time again beginning Sept. 6th. September 10th Parent meeting to discuss Mission Trip. September 29th- Fall Festival! (Youth helping) October 27th Youth Lock-In after football game. Nov. 4th Youth Coffee House Fundraiser!

4 Memorials Page 4-The Beacon Kathy Atkinson Mary Frances Bobo Margaret Adams Eudy Cuthbertson Annie Lee Epley In Honor of In Memory of Mary and Fred Dodge Kathy and Mike Rabb Ann and Mitch Arney Ann and Mitch Arney Kay and Phillip Tate Phillip and Kay Tate Nancy Stewart Community Unity Service Sunday, Sept 24 3:00 pm East McDowell Middle School Auditorium Everyone Welcome! Mark Your Calendar! Sunday, 6:00 pm United Methodist Women Mayme Tainter Circle meets on Monday, Sept. 11, 2017 at 7:00pm in the church Parlor. Tracey Owens will present a program of "Mission U". The Morning Circle will meet on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017 at 10:00am in the church parlor. Rick and Brenda Salsman would like to invite our church family to join us September 9 at 4 pm for the wedding ceremony of our daughter, Paige to Reynaldo Ignacio. Because you have shared our lives in friendship and love, we want you to join us in blessing this marriage.

5 September Birthdays Sept. 1 Sept. 2 Sept. 7 Sept. 8 Sept. 15 Charles Brown Bunnie Burgin Cole Conner Hannah Ross Will Moomaw C.J. Dellinger Robin Dunnebacke Michele Settlemyre Cathy Cook Tawnya Kagan Cyndi Kidd Kathy McCoy Crystal Johndrow Sept. 16 Sept. 16 Sept. 20 Sept. 21 March Birthdays Sept. 22 Sept. 23 Sept. 25 Sept. 26 Sept. 27 Elaine Howard Janet Morgan Hannah Settlemyre Hayden Vaughn Avangeline Pool Eavan Smith Olivia Brown Joan Hensley Helen Goudreau Chris Rhodes Kristopher Grissler Tom Settlemyre First United Methodist Church 176 Robert St. Marion, NC marionfumc.com A Lighthouse guiding people in Worship, Spiritual Growth, and Service.