The Methodist Messenger

Transcription

1 First United Methodist Church Volume 74, Issue 1 January 15, 2018 The Methodist Messenger A Taste of What s Inside 1 MLK Parade 2,5 Church facts 2 Christian Crafters 3 Worship News 3 Youth News 3 Eagle Scout Court of Honor for Nick Sorrells 4 Music Notes 5 Puppets for Jesus 5 Newsletter Deadline Mark Your Calendar 1 MLK Day Community Parade January 13 2 Christian Crafters - January 19, 20 3 Mid-Winter Camp - February Eagle Scout Court of Honor for Nick Sorrells - January 21 4 Joy Singers Spring Musical - March 7 5 Newsletter Deadline January 24 Friends... by the time you are reading this my opening through will be old news since we will already be a week and more past the specific however, I do feel the call to begin here with a hearty Happy New Year to you and yours along with visions of a blessed I have been looking over my official pastoral calendar and made note of something important coming our way. You all are familiar with the Martin Luther King, Jr. observance on Monday, January 15. This day marking not only the significant presence of a selfless, sacrificial, and significant leader of the 1960 s, one who took leadership in bringing about a much needed paradigm shift in our culture. MLK Day therefore stands for more than celebration of an individual but is an emphasis on equality, freedom, justice, and other virtues and promises upon which our nation was created. One of the newer practices of this time is a parade honoring Dr. King and remembering that we are all in the progress of freedom together. The event last year drew a significant following including people from approximately a dozen congregations in the Gilmer area. This year s MLK Parade will be held on Saturday, January 13, beginning at 10:00 a.m. It is our privilege here at First UMC to be the point of origin. As the gathering place it is important that we, members and friends of the church take seriously the gift of hospitality, something we do incredibly well. It is my plan to be present in our Fellowship Hall with coffee and donuts, starting at 9:00 a.m. I trust that there are those who will join me. The parade will move from our location, down Buffalo to Titus, then across the highway ending at Moses Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church where we will share in prayer, song, devotional, remembrance, and story. I cannot say for sure the length of the presentation but do recognize that, even with a reception following at Moses Chapel, we were back home by noon. (Please see Pastor s Letter, page 2) Vision Statement: First United Methodist Church is a loving, supportive family of faith working together to share God's love. Contact Us 105 N. Montgomery St Gilmer, TX Pastor, Richard Laster pastorlaster@etex.net Secretary, Esther Faggione gilmerchurch@gmail.com Financial Secretary, Lamon Geddie fumcacct@etex.net

2 Page 2 WE SHOW OUR LOVE Pastor s Letter By Our Prayers... Ceci Crombie, Lamon Geddie, Stephanie Hamberlin, Roy Helpenstill, Billie Stevenson Remember ongoing prayers for loved ones with serious illnesses, our shut-ins, family and friends in the military service and the leaders and staff of our church and our country. Remember to check our Web Site for up-to-the-minute prayer requests. (continued from page 1) Please take this as an opportunity to be part of the greater community as we offer our appreciation for one of the most significant leaders of the last century. We parade, not only in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. but also to show our commitment to all he set before us. Thanks for your time. See you Sunday, if not before. Regards and God Bless... Richard Prayer Ministry Don t worry about anything; instead pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don t forget to thank Him for His answers. -- Philippians 4:6 Submit requests to Church s web page: Or Call: Church Office Betty Parish Annette Breazeale Mission Moment... Statistically Speaking Our Presence Sunday School Worship Visitors December December December December Date Average Year to Date Average Last Year December Please join us for crafting at our next Christian Crafters gathering on Friday, the 19th, from 6 p.m p.m. and Saturday, the 20th, from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. We are meeting in the CLC in Room 306. During this time you will have the opportunity to work on your own crafts, as well as items for Operation Christmas Child. Barbara Smith Our Worship Service is broadcast on ETEX, Channel 999, Sunday, 6 p.m. Our Presents Date Take advantage of the many sales and purchase items now for Operation Christmas Child. It s a great time to pick up mittens, gloves and hats, as well as small toys and stuffed animals. We will suggest items you can donate each month so we will have plenty of goodies when we fill the shoeboxes in November. Please leave your donations in the Operation Christmas Child bin at the Donation Station across from the church office. and Monday, 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Total Income Total Expenses Income Over/ (Under) $37, $33, $3, Follow us on Facebook First United M ethodist Church Year to Date $409, $413, $3, of Gilmer

3 Page 3 The Methodist Messenger WORSHIP NEWS by Annette Breazeale SEASON AFTER EPHIPHANY 1 The first Sunday after Christmas we celebrate the Epiphany, which is the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles, as represented by the Magi in Matthew 2: 1-12 a moment of sudden and great revelation. After Epiphany we celebrate Christ s baptism. During this time we remember that Mary and Joseph took Jesus for presentation in the Temple on the fortieth day after his birth, February 2. The last Sunday of this period, we recall Christ s transfiguration on the mountain with Elijah and Moses as seen in our beautiful window. Page 3 Youth News by Matthew Potter Hello everyone! Christmas has come and gone again. This Christmas the youth were able to get 5 kids from the angel tree and provide a wonderful Christmas for each one of them. The children ranged in age from 1 year to 14 years old. The youth really took it upon themselves to do their best to make these children s dreams come true. I am so proud of these young people. Thank you youth and parents for your help! Also, with it being a new year that means Mid-Winter camp is right around the corner. The date is February 16th-18th and is open to youth in 7th12th grades. Cost is $135 per person before February 1st and $150 after February 1st. If you have any questions or would like to register please let me know. Matt Important Notice: There will be a called Charge Conference regarding an item of importance for the church s future to be held on Sunday, January 28, immediately following worship. This is a ten day, or prior notification required by the United Methodist Book of Discipline. Details to follow. Many, Many Thanks Thank you to all who helped prepare the sanctuary for Advent and Christmas! This year beautiful Advent Banners representing each Sunday were created by Frances Kendall with Greg Kendall building the stands. We also appreciate Tammy Orms who redesigned the sanctuary wreaths. To all those who helped prepare the sanctuary and who came again to store the beautiful decorations, your time and energies are so appreciated...annette

4 Th e M ethodi st Messe nger P age 4 Music Notes by Lora Robison It is great to be starting a winter and spring season here at FUMC Gilmer! Your Music Ministries teams have worked hard in December making sure that all of the Christmas and Advent worship music would help bring each person closer to our Lord Jesus Christ. The worship service for Sunday, January 14, includes Scripture from I Samuel 3:1-20. Reverend Laster s sermon topic is Here I Am. The hymns include Here I Am, Lord, Somebody s Knockin At My Door, and Be Thou My Vision from The United Methodist Hymnal. The Joy Singers will be singing Lead Me, Lord by Goodine. The Chancel Choir will be singing Here I Am by Allen Pote. The service for January 21, includes scripture from Jonah 3: 1-5, 10. The sermon topic is Walking Through Nineveh, that Great City. Hymns for the service include: Blessed Be the God of Israel and a CONGREGATION S CHOICE from The United Methodist Hymnal. The closing hymn is Grace that is Greater than Our Sin. The Chancel Choir will be singing Take My Life, a beautiful anthem arranged by Litton. Fourth Sunday, January 28, includes scripture from Mark 1: Reverend Laster s sermon is entitled Learning from Evil Spirits. Hymns for the day include Christ, Whose Glory Fill the Skies and Silence, Frenzied, Unseen Spirit (which will be sung to the familiar Beach Spring hymn tune) both from The United Methodist Hymnal. The closing hymn is Healer of Our Every Ill found in The Faith We Sing Hymnal. The offertory, I Sing the Almighty Power of God arranged by Anna Laura Page will be played by Jubilation. The anthem sung by the Chancel Choir is Cleanse Me by Mark Hayes. The Joy Singers have returned to Wonderful Wednesdays to begin working on their spring musical which will be presented on Wednesday, March 7, as well as rehearsing on their second-sunday anthems for worship services. The Chancel Choir and Jubilation Bells have music in folders to begin working for moving services during Lent and Easter. There is a seat for you in Chancel Choir! Please join us on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. for rehearsals! See you in worship! In Christ s love, Lora If you would like to provide altar flowers for 2018, please sign up for one of the available dates at the church welcome center or call the church office at February 4 April 29 May 20 July 8 July 29 September 30

5 Flowers for January 7 Elaine Kimbrough & Thomas McClain January 14 Mr. and Mrs. Dwight Brannon January 21 Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Steger January 28 Deborah Holt Bates Greeters Larry and Berita Morse Lay Reader Diane Chevalier Deadline for Newsletter Articles January 24, Noon Puppets for Jesus by Babs Crombie The Sanctuary Flowers for P age 5 December 10 were given by Melvin and Jo Reynolds in memory of Melvin s baby sister, Leatha Farrington. December 17 were given by the Steve Williams family, in loving memory and in honor of their family and friends. December 24 were given by Jan Lively in celebration of Rick s birthday. December 31 were given by James and Kathy McClain in loving memory of Charlie and Daine Sewell and Ronnie Sewell. You know what I love about the new year? We all get so ambitious. We set goals that we actually feel confident that we are going to achieve that year. And the great thing is, we can actually do it! A new year is a clean slate and a great time to turn things around, that we know need to be changed in our lives. So it isn t uncommon that we want to get healthier with each passing year. Clean out those cluttered closets, and strive to better ourselves. The puppet team is no different. We work on making our performances better each time. We learn new puppet techniques, and progress in advancing performance skills. We are planning to do more projects this year with Gospel Illusions, Clowning ministry, Beyond Words, a skit which is wordless puppetry, making and creating a puppet from scraps. Color Me Christian which is a series of lessons we plan to use this year that focus on different colors of scripts using songs, drama, & object lessons. We ll be doing more blacklight performances using both Stretch-A-Belly puppets and or beloved Funzels puppets. You ll be seeing Dowel Rod ministry and more performances for the Children s Moment in the sanctuary. Lastly, we will all choose a LIFE WORD which is one word that simplifies and changes our lives for the new year. One chosen word that will help to define ourselves and write our life stories. A word that will impact the six dimensions of our life, which include: mental, physical, emotional, relational, spiritual, and financial. There IS a word for everyone, and when you find it, live it, share it, and own it and experience it s impact on your life. We ve had some interesting adventures in the year Some we can learn from and some we can rejoice in. The formation of our new Junior Puppet team in September was a wonderful one. It was the first time we ventured out and formed a younger, excited group of youth in the 4th-6th grades to form a Junior version of the Puppet ministry team. Sam Sorrells, Seth Ball, Hagen Hagler, and Jake Fenlaw became the grassroots members of this special group. They will follow in the footsteps and learn from our more seasoned members on the Senior team. We are so proud to have them aboard! It s time for us to now focus on the next events coming up such as: Valentine s day, Easter, Mother s Day, Graduation and of course, Vacation Bible School! The time just goes by much too fast for this person! On behalf of the Puppets for Jesus ministry team I want to say Thank You for your continued love and support of the youth and adults who make this special ministry possible for our church. We hope this is a year that is full of good health, blessings and growth during the year. Blessings, Babs Th e M ethodi st Messe nger Follow u s on F aceboo k - Fir st Unit e d Methodi st Church o f Gi lm er