First Look. First united Methodist church Newsletter July 14, 2014 Volume 43, Issue No. 27

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1 First Look First united Methodist church Newsletter July 14, 2014 Volume 43, Issue No. 27 Greetings from David Many of us struggle with questions about our faith. We are in the midst of a Frequently Asked Questions series that deals with some of those questions. We have discussed the Why? question and the question, Can I Be Assured of Salvation? This week in worship we are going to deal with the question, Is Jesus The Only Way? We live in the midst of a society that tells us we don t want to offend others, and we need to be tolerant. How can we be strong in our faith and not talk down to others? What about faithful people of other religions? I am excited that Jim Westmoreland and I will offer a dialogue sermon around these questions this week. Like so much that we do, it may not offer ultimate answers, but we hope that it causes us all to think and to go deeper in our faith. I invite you to read through, and pray through, John 3:16 and John 14:6 as God prepares a sermon in us. I look forward to being in mission and ministry with you this week! In Christ s Service, David SMITHILLS SCHOOL SENIOR BRASS BAND From Bolton, England 4 times WORLD CHAMPION YOUTH BRASS BAND 11 times BRITISH NATIONAL CHAMPIONS BBC YOUTH BRASS BAND OF THE YEAR several times Free Concert THURSDAY, JULY 24, p.m., Sanctuary You cannot over-estimate the value of this Smithills School Brass Band Tour and the impact it has upon people s lives. Listen to what has been said about the bands 2012 North Carolina tour. Hear what the band members say about their experience in the USA: Just want to thank you for an awesome tour that we will remember for the rest of our lives! You gave us opportunities we d never in a million years have had otherwise. (Kate) Thanks for the best time of my life. (David) Last night I had the privilege of hearing your Brass Band. UNBELIEVABLE!!! They were incredible I have never seen a group of students so disciplined yet having a wonderful time. Musical Director Chris Wormald made the evening perfect! His humor and love of music were a delight to observe I had never heard such a wonderful variety of music. Their rendition of familiar songs was unbelievable! Becky, Gardner-Webb University, Boiling Springs, NC

2 We Witness By Our Prayers Hospitalized: Winnie Moyer-CaroMont By Our Presence July 13, :45 a.m. Worship a.m. Worship a.m. Worship 281 Total Worship 439 Sunday School 132 By Our Service Sunday, July 20 Scripture Readers 8:45 a.m. Les Davis 11 a.m. Bonnie Turner Doorstopper Greeters Clara Harris John and Nancy Senter Dot and Ken Kiser Minister on Call Weekend of July Jim Westmoreland An Update from Your Staff Parish Committee Staff-Parish Relations is pleased to remind us all that Jennifer Cabaniss will begin her job as Director of Children s Ministries on August 4! The interview committee for the Director of Student Ministries continues to interview and feels good about the progress they are making, though no decision has been made yet. The Associate Pastor search is continuing. Our Food Services Manager, Monica Smith, will no longer be an active employee due to being on Short Term Disability related to her recent Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis. Please keep Monica in your prayers. We are grateful that Mr. Bruce Tindall is filling in this role. We continue to be grateful to Mr. Larry Brannock for filling in the role of Business Manager on a volunteer basis until we are able to hire someone for that position. Gathering of the Laity- August 8-10, 2014 The Western NC Conference is having the annual Gathering of the Laity on Friday, August 8 through Sunday, August 10 at beautiful Lake Junaluska. The conference is a spiritual renewal and revitalization conference designed to challenge and encourage you in your walk as a Christian disciple. This year, the keynote speakers will be Rev. Gaston Warner who is Director of ZOE Ministries. ZOE Ministries facilitates the empowerment of over 25,000 orphans and vulnerable children in seven countries. Also speaking will be Rev. Tiffany Thomas, Senior Pastor of at South Tryon Community Church in Charlotte. Saturday evening will feature J. Mark McVey, a world renowned tenor who played Jean Valjean in Les Miserables on Broadway. Mark will speak and sing. The Lake Junaluska Singers will also perform on Saturday. For more details, please go to All Laity are welcome. You do need to register and make your own hotel reservations (call for hotel reservations). The registration fee is $20 you can register on-line at the website above or by mail. I will leave some forms in the church Reception area if you wish to register by mail. I will also leave a sign-up form in the Reception office. Please do sign up if you plan to attend. Let s have a great turnout from FUMC! Dan Moser Lay Leader Are you interested in becoming a member of FUMC? If so, join us on Wednesday, July 16, 2014 at 7 p.m. upstairs in the Wesley Center for Friends Dessert.

3 Youth connections Sunday, July 20, :45 a.m. The Gathering 10 a.m. Summer Sunday School. Kevin Queen will be teaching again this week. Week of welcome All rising sixth graders are invited to the Week of Welcome! Each new school year, our fifth grade class moves into the youth program. While this is an exciting time, it also requires change. The week of welcome provides opportunities for fellowship, personal enrichment, service and Bible Study. This year we are experimenting with offering this week concurrently with Vacation Bible School. We encourage our rising sixth graders to attend VBS, July as specific activities will be planned for just your class! Summer Mission Trip July 19-26, Donations of bottled water, pop tarts, cereal bars, individual bags of potato chips, boxes of cereal, individual servings of cookies and ziplock bags are appreciated. Please leave in Room 201. Children s Ministry Come discover how god loves us even if we re weird! We need lots of hands to help with Vacation Bible School this year (July 27-30, 2014)! Volunteer positions that still need to be filled include: Crew (group) leaders, assistant crew leaders, station assistants, greeters, photographers, decorators, and more! Sign up to volunteer at: This is also the link for participant registration, or you may pick-up a form in the main hallway at the church. Come help us make decorations for VBS this summer! Since the FLC is undergoing extensive construction, we need lots of decorations pre-made that can be put up quickly before VBS starts! We will have several decorating workshop dates - please come to one or all that you can! All workshops will meet at the church at the Children's Ministry office downstairs. Many hands make light work! Thank you! Please consider attending one (or all) of our decorating workshops: July 16, 1-4 p.m. July 20, 12:15 p.m.-3 p.m. (lunch provided) July 27, 12:15 p.m. until finished (lunch provided). Contact Caitlin Gault, cmgault91@gmail.com to volunteer.

4 Music Ministry Music Schedule Monday, July 14 6 p.m. 162 East Committee, Theatre Sunday, July a.m. Summer Choir, Room 114 Worship Schedule Sunday, July 20 8:45 a.m. Sanctuary 9 a.m. Theater 11 a.m. Sanctuary Smithills Sr. Hi Band Coming to FUMC July 24 The British are coming [again]! The 45-member Senior Brass Band from Smithills School in Great Britain will play in our Sanctuary 7 p.m., Thursday, July 24, as the second program in our Summer Concert Series. The concert is free, and a love offering will be received. You will not want to miss their outstanding line-up of hymns and pop/broadway tunes. We are also providing overnight host homes for the band. Contact Charlotte Lynch [ / charlottelynch120@yahoo.com] to help. Scarboroughs on Wesley Heritage Tour July Saxon and Patti Scarborough are traveling to Great Britain this week with a group from the Western NC Annual Conference to visit sites connected with our Methodist founders, John and Charles Wesley. Music Associate Susan Lisle will lead music this Sunday July 20. Music Ministry Contacts Rev. Saxon Scarborough Minister of Music saxon@fumcgastonia.org x cell Susan Lisle Music Associate susan@fumcgastonia.org x237 Aaron Prillaman 162 East Worship Leader aaron@fumcgastonia.org cell Timothy Scruggs Organist timothy@fumcgastonia.org cell James Smith Assistant Organist beanman@vnet.net cell Veterans Seminar - Please see flyer on page 6. Parish nurse ministry A Matter of Balance - A free workshop for anyone concerned about falls, anyone who has fallen in the past, or anyone interested in increasing or improving balance, flexibility and strength. Mondays and Wednesdays, beginning August 11- September 3, 9:30-11:30 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church. Space is limited. To register, please contact Lisa Marisiddaiah, Parish Nurse at

5 connect Summer fun Summer break is here, however, we are not taking a break from friends and fun. K-5 graders can have a great time going to Hickory Dickory Dock. So mark your calendars for August 4. Hickory Dickory Dock is a super fun day trip for the children on August 4. K-5 graders will meet at the church at 8:30 a.m. and return at 12:15 p.m. All activities and supervision will be provided for $22. They will ride the church bus to Hickory Dickory Dock with the school age children from the Summer Camp. Please make sure to sign-up and turn your money in by July 21. Please contact Kristi McClellan at preschool@fumcgastonia.org to sign-up and with any questions. It is going to be a great summer! Also, remember VBS is July Just Move Just Move is a new program sponsored by our Family Life Center Ministries. The hardest part of starting any exercise program is getting started. We want to help. The Just Move group meets on Mondays and Wednesday at 8 a.m. at the Martha Rivers Park parking lot. We have a short prayer and everyone walks at their own pace. It is very informal. You can walk 10 minutes or 60 minutes, whatever you choose to do. The idea is to get together and support each other in living a healthier lifestyle. No need to register. Just show up and Just Move. Soccer coaches needed We're looking for folks who are willing to coach or help coach youth soccer this fall. Age groups are 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10, and Looking for individuals who love spending time with children. The commitment will be one practice per week (1 hour or so) and depending on age group, 1 or 2 games per week. Practices begin in August and games are finished by the middle of October. Please consider spending a few hours a week with these children. Contact Jim Ware for more information, jware@fumcgastonia.org or ext Covenant Missionary to be here Gordon and Ardell Graner, our church s covenant missionaries in the Dominican Republic, are on furlough in the United States until December. Gordon is going to be with us on Wednesday, August 13. We are planning a meal at 6 p.m. and Gordon will be sharing at 6:30 p.m. Please mark your calendars to be here and meet the man that we pray for each Monday! Be looking in the Newsletter and the Eblast for more information about this event. Our youth are going on their mission trip to Milwaukee, and the church that is hosting our youth also support the Graners as covenant missionaries! How blessed we are to be a part of a connectional church! Our Website has been updated Take a look... Newsletter articles must be submitted via by 9 a.m. on Wednesday prior to publication on the following Monday. your submission to Amanda, amanda@fumcgastonia.org. Please note that articles are at the Editors discretion due to limited space, run time, etc. Thank you for your cooperation.

6 events AND NEWS FLC Closed The Family Life Center is closed for some extensive renovations. Our plan is to re-open by July 26 in time for Vacation Bible School. Thank you for your patience as we continue to improve our facilities. Shine What in the World is that? How many days are in a school year? Answer 180. What do we want the children in our community to be able to do in the classroom during the entire 180 days? Answer Shine! Shine 180, the new and improved back-to-school bash for 2014! FUMC will be helping the students at West Gastonia Boys and Girls Club to Shine 180 by helping collect classroom supplies, and we need to start now to guarantee a successful event. Items that are greatly needed are: Boxes of tissues, pump bottles of hand sanitizer, and disinfecting wipes. When you are shopping and see these items, especially when they are on sale, please consider adding them to your cart. Collection boxes will be placed in the Hospitality Room for your donations. There will be many opportunities for everyone to help with this wonderful community mission project, and the Shine 180 Committee would like to encourage you to participate in any way you can. Please watch and listen for more information, and thanks in advance for your support. Shine 180 Committee Save the date for... The Main Event 2014-You re Invited! Date: Sunday, October 12, 2014 Location: Rotary Pavilion

7 July 2014 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday To print this calendar, select print and choose page 7.

8 The mission of First United Methodist Church: To see Christ in every person we encounter and demonstrate to them the love of God and the teachings of Jesus. Prayers for those serving in the military CW3 Shaun Breth (Nan White's grandson) MSGT Martin Bo M. Henson (Louise Henson s son) CAPT Parker Gray (Jimmy Gray & Lynn Lamb s son) SGT Nathan Siceloff (David & Libby Siceloff s son) SFC Bo Beam (Ernie & Rosemarie Nivens' son-in-law) SSGT Zach Gray (Donna McPhail's son) SGT David Frederick (Amanda P. Frederick's husband) SSGT David DeBerry (Chris DeBerry s son) A1C Jessica DeBerry (Chris DeBerry s daughter-in-law) CPL Donald Hamrick (Charlie Greene s cousin) AE1 Steve Clark (Katie Spurrier s son) PFC Landon Doctor (Katherine Crawford Doctor s husband) CHPL LT Crystal McPhail (Skip McPhail s daughter) Chad Buttrey (Sam Stout s cousin) SGT Josh Marlow SA Tyler Turner (Bonnie and Horace Turner s grandson) ENS Parrisha Barnes (former member of UMYF) Connect Phone: contact@fumcgastonia.org Web: Give fumcgastonia First United Methodist Church PO Box 218 Gastonia, North Carolina Published weekly except one week in July and Christmas week, at 190 E. Franklin Blvd., Gastonia, NC (USPS ). Periodicals postage paid at Gastonia, NC. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Newsletter of First United Methodist Church, PO Box 218 Gastonia, NC first United Methodist church PO Box 218 Gastonia, NC David Christy, Senior Minister Saxon Scarborough, Minister of Music Lisa Marisiddaiah, Parish Nurse Aaron Prillaman, 162 East Worship Leader Program Staff James Westmoreland, Minister of Congregational Care Dave Cramp, Visitation Minister Jim Ware, Director of Family Life Center Timothy Scruggs, Organist Rebecca Greene, Director of Youth Ministries Bruce Tindall, Interim Director of Food Services Kristi McClellan, Director of Weekday Preschool Eddie Ingram, Pastoral Psychotherapist: , x411