Pastor David. Inside this issue: Your fellow laborer,

Transcription

1 The mission of First United Methodist Church of Silsbee is to glorify God, make disciples, and transform lives in Christ August 19, 2015 A publication of : First United Methodist Church 670 North 5th Street, Silsbee, Texas Phone: (409) Rev. David Green Senior Pastor Rev. Nancy Ratchford Associate Pastor Come Visit Us At: Inside this issue: Gifts and Presence 2 Memorials 2 Sunday School News 2 Converge Youth 3 Children s Ministry 3 AFDS Article 4 Dear Friends, Summertime is just about officially over and you know what that means? It means that our society will return to activities we had temporarily put aside. What activities might they be, you ask? Well, it s time for back-to-school, back-towork, and back to schedules that just might take some getting used to. Oh, and I almost forgot, how about back-to-church? In the New Testament book of Philippians, chapter 2, verses 12 and 13, the Apostle Paul writes the following: Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and work for His good pleasure. (New International Version) My late father, Whalen D. Green, had many sayings which I call Whalenisms. One of them, a clean one, was that work never hurt anyone. Here at First UMC, your staff and I work for God and seek to serve each of you to enable you to have a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. When we all work together, we can accomplish great things even beyond our imaginations. Won t you please join with us so that our work can produce glory to God and more believers in the salvation of Jesus? By the way, step up and allow God to find your place of work in the ministries of First UMC. Now s the time to get back to work! Your fellow laborer, Pastor David Staff Spotlight 6 New Ministry 7 Opportunities Music Notes 7 Baby Shower 8 Invite Don t forget Holy Communion on September 6 Everyone is invited and reminded to attend worship at First UMC on September 6 to enjoy and receive the sacrament of Holy Communion. In addition to Communion, the gift of anointing with oil for physical, emotional, or spiritual issues will be offered in both worship services.

2 Mona Parks Dot Walker AJ and Beris Clubb Jeanette Van Winkle and family Johni Ruth Dunbar Nelson Long Greg & Paulette Cobb Kassie Moye Margaret Broussard Pat Beard Sam Karr Bubba Moye Kassie Moye Margarey Hagan Allan and Dagma Murphy Marianne Deadmon Harold Erwin Marianne Deadmon Worship 08/ / Sunday School 08/ /16 84 Gifts 08/09 $ /16 $4, Methogram Schedule September 9 publication Please submit any articles and info by noon, Tues. Sept. 8. September 23 publication Please submit any articles and info by noon, Tues. Sept Reasons Why a Pastor Quit Attending Sporting Events 1. The coach never came to visit me. 2. Every time I went, they asked for money. 3. The people sitting in my row didn t seem very friendly. 4. The seats were very hard. 5. The referees made a decision I didn t agree with. 6. I was sitting with hypocrites they only came to see what others were wearing! 7. Some games went into overtime and I was late getting home. 8. The band played some songs I had never heard before. 9. The games are scheduled on my only day to sleep in and run errands. David Green to replace David Cobble as Teacher for Young Adult Sunday School Class starting Sept. 13. David Cobble, First UMC s excellent lay leader, will retire as the teacher of the Young Adult Sunday School Class on September 6. First UMC thanks David for his years of dedicated teaching in Sunday School. Pastor David will begin teaching on September 13, and the curriculum will be the DVD study entitled The God We Can Know, exploring the I Am sayings of Jesus. This series, filmed in the Holy Land, is a 7 week course exploring the I Am sayings of Jesus found in the Gospel of John. A student guide book for the course is $8 and should be ordered through the church office by September 2. Please contact the church office by that time if you would like to order one. 10. My parents took me to too many games when I was growing up. 11. Since I read a book on sports, I feel that I know more than the coaches, anyway. 12. I don t want to take my children because I want them to choose for themselves what sport they like best.

3 The school year is here. No hiding and no running. Converge has started a new 6- week study about the book of James, which includes a video. We will not have Sunday school on Aug 23 due to the Back-to-School bash for the kids. We are also changing our Sunday School curriculum to match what we talk about at UMYF on Sunday nights, which will help the youth get a better understanding of what we are discussing. We will have a car wash this Saturday, August 22, from 9 to noon. It will be located on Ave D between the two buildings. Come out and get your vehicle washed. The price is a donation, and this money will go to our general funds for activities throughout the year. We have a mission trip coming up the weekend of Labor Day, September 5-7. We will be leaving Saturday, Sept. 5 and will be returning on Monday afternoon, Sept. 7. We will be staying at Westbury UMC and will be working in the Westbury area, as well as at the Houston Food Bank. We will also worship with Westbury on Sunday. On Saturday evening, we will have some down time and a fun activity. We are looking for chaperones to go with us on this trip. Permission slips are located outside my office and this trip is for youth from sixth through twelfth grade. The cost is $60, which will cover all food and entertainment on the trip. Scholarships are available. Please contact me for further information. Pumpkins are coming. The truck will be here on October 2 at 10 pm., after the football game. We are trying to have the Patch ready and open before the Homecoming Parade the next day. Please come help or spread the word that help is needed that night. I have visited the majority of the school districts in our area, and dropped off fliers for them, so we are hoping that a lot of classes will come have field trips in our Pumpkin Patch. We are still in need of volunteers to come work the patch, and are asking that volunteers take two-hour increments. You will be responsible for collecting money and being a smiling face to the community. Please contact the church office at for more details. James Borello Director Converge Student Ministries Children s Ministry Update Summer is coming to a close and school will start next week. Yay, right? We will be celebrating Back to School this Sunday, August 23 with Blessing of the Backpacks during the 9:00 and 11:00 services. During the Sunday school hour at 10:00 a.m., we will have promotions and Bible presentations. Following the presentations, we will go outside to play on the bouncy houses! On September 16th, FaithWeaver Friends will start their new year, and it is going to be a lot of fun! We, of course, need volunteers. We offer to pick the children up at local schools at 3:30 and bring them to the church. We really need volunteers to drive the kids to the church. They are picked up by parents at 5:30. We also have many other ways that you can help, with games, music, snacks, teaching, and crafts. Please come be involved with this wonderful ministry. It is a real blessing. Glenda Delano, Director of Children s Ministries

4 This is the first year, since I came on board in 2008, that we have started a new school year with a full returning staff. Not one new employee! That s a great feeling. I d like to take a minute to introduce my staff to the church. Stacy Black (formerly Davenport) Stacy has been with AFDS since the fall of 1999! And, previous to that, she had a 2 year stint. She is a fixture at the day school. She is a 4 y/o teacher and also works in Extended Care. She and Joyce switch extended care duty daily and are in charge in the afternoons. Joyce Self Second in seniority and also a fixture at the day school and in the church nursery! She s taught at AFDS since August She is a 4 y/o teacher and also works in Extended Care. She and Stacy are in charge in the afternoons after I leave. Charlsie Dollinger Charlsie came to AFDS in the office aide/extended care position, then moved into the classroom. She s been on staff since the fall of She s great about coming up with new ideas! Lesliekay Luna Lesliekay (glitter guru) also started as a substitute teacher and we quickly realized we needed her on staff. She started in August of She is a 3 y/ o teacher. Kristina Nevlezer Kristina started as a sub for AFDS in the fall of 2008, then in spring of 2009 moved into a classroom. She currently is our 3 y/o, 3 day teacher. We tease her and Lesliekay about hoarding the glitter! Catherine Brandenburg Catherine started in August 2012 in Extended Care. The next school year we offered her a 3 y/o position. She gladly accepted and we ve been blessed. Catherine came to us from Georgia with 10+ years of preschool experience. Trisha Stout Trisha started at AFDS in Extended Care in After a few school years of that, she moved to the 2 y/o class. Trisha also is the cheery face of our Early Bird program. She opens our school each morning.

5 Lauren Kuebodeaux While Lauren was a senior at SHS, she interned at AFDS. As soon as an extended care position came open, I knew we needed to hire her. She began in the fall of She is pursuing her education at Lamar for elementary Ed. Courtney Landry Coteaching the two year olds is Courtney. She s been on staff since She is affectionately known as the potty whisperer. She and Trisha are able to potty train a whole class by the end of a school year! Tosha Briscoe-Watts Tosha is our newest employee. Hiring for the music position seemed such a daunting task. But one day, I saw Tosha dancing down the sidewalk after dropping her kiddos off in class, I knew she d be perfect for the position. She started in the spring of Susie Wilson Known as Ms. Nana to the kiddos, Susie is the office assistant and my mom! She runs the office efficiently and is very organized. She keeps me in line. The teachers giggle when I get fussed at by Nana. I am so blessed to have this wonderful group of ladies working for me. They tirelessly put in hours of work for very little pay. They love their jobs and these kiddos. This isn t an 8am-5pm position for them. They all live and breathe AFDS! I can t tell you how many times, they have texted me on the weekend or in the evening with a new idea for their classroom. They are a dedicated group. I am so proud! Thank you all for the support you have given AFDS over the past 43 years. We are blessed to be a ministry of FUMC. I love the relationship that the church has with the school. Can t wait to see what the future holds!! Traci Turner, AFDS Director Pastor David Green selected for Perkins Center for Preaching Excellence Peer Learning Group On August 31, Pastor David will be in Dallas, Texas to attend the initial meeting of the Houston Area Preaching Peer Learning Group. This learning opportunity is a two-year commitment based on the theme, Share the Story, Shape the World: Storytelling as a Vehicle for Sharing the Gospel. The group will meet 8 to 10 times in day-long sessions in the first year, and the 2nd year will be developed in the process. The Houston group is also joined by groups from North Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas. This special opportunity is funded through the Lilly Endowment, Inc., and various church groups. Please pray that this experience will be beneficial not only to Pastor Green, but also First UMC Silsbee.

6 Your church staff would like to share a little about ourselves so that you can get to know us better. Staff Member: Joyce Self Position on Staff: Nursery Coordinator How long have you been working for the church? I started working in the church nursery in I became the church Nursery Coordinator about 5 years ago. Tell us about your family I am a single mom and have 2 sons. Jerry just turned 21, and Philip will soon be 18. I have a wonderful daughter-in-law, Alecia. Are you from Silsbee? If not, where are you from? I was raised in Lumberton in a very large family. I am the youngest of 9 children. I moved to Silsbee about 25 years ago. What are you doing when you are not at work? I love spending time with friends and family. I love participating in the outdoors, cookouts, going to the beach, lake, river, and 4-wheeler riding. I also work at All Faiths Day School as a Pre K-4 year old teacher. I have been there since 2000 also. What is your favorite hymn or praise song? Amazing Grace is my favorite hymn. What brought you to church work? I was asked by a member of the church if I would be interested in working in the nursery. What is your favorite part of your job? Just being able to work with children and the awesome employees I have. If you have any other questions you would like to ask Joyce, she welcomes you to stop by the church nursery and say hello!

7 Primetimers Primetimers will have their monthly summer meeting this Tuesday, August 25, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. We will gather at the home of Richard and Pat Strong, located at 102 Lucky Drive, Silsbee. For directions, please call Pat at We will begin our regular weekly meetings on Tuesday, September 8 at 10:00 a.m. We look forward to seeing you there! New Ministry Opportunities Wanting to find your place of service at First UMC? Well, we have new opportunities that just might be right for you! 1. Re-do and keep current the entry bulletin board/announcement board in Cravens Hall. Free to design in any Christian way. Guidance from church administrator available. Check/change board once a week. 2. Help design and implement new welcome station for Narthex of Sanctuary. Guidance from Pastor available. Update monthly and check weekly. 3. Plant and maintain flowers in front of sanctuary, lighted church sign, and lettered church sign. Free to choose any plant style. Check and maintain once a week. 4. Greeters for the 11:00 a.m. service. Greet guests and members as they enter the church before worship. All of these opportunities can be done on your schedule. Please contact the church office if interested in any of these opportunities. Music Notes Come Join the Chancel Choir at a new time! Starting Wednesday, August 26 we will begin meeting at 6pm - 7:15pm. The Music Department of Wesley United Methodist Church begins their Concert series Organ & Piano Concert Sunday, August 23rd 7:00pm - 8:00pm Wesley Church, 3810 N Major Drive Featured Musicians: Dr. Betsy Hines Dwight Peirce Orvalee Husband The Lamar University Faculty & Guest Recital series presents Piano Concert Tuesday, September 15, 7:00pm Lamar University Rothwell Recital Hall Featured Pianists: Dr. Jacob Clark Dr. Sujung Cho Presenting the works of Rachmaninoff, Dvorak, Ibert, JC Bach

8 First United Methodist Church 670 North 5th Street Silsbee Texas RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED