The Messenger. I Dare You!

Transcription

1 First United Methodist Church 404 Azalea St. Lake Jackson, TX October 11, 2017 Volume 47, Issue 10 The Messenger Inside this issue October Birthdays... 2 I Dare You! At a church meeting a very wealthy man rose to tell the rest of those present about his Christian faith. I'm a millionaire, he said, and I attribute it all to the rich blessings of God in my life. I remember the turning point in my faith. I had just earned my first dollar and I went to a church meeting that night. The speaker was a missionary who told about his work. I knew that I only had a dollar bill and had to either give it all to God s work or nothing at all. So at that moment I decided to give my whole dollar to God. I believe that God blessed that decision, and that is why I am a rich man today. Sympathies & Memorials... 3 Children s Ministry... 4,5 Youth/Submerge News... 6,7 Women s Ministry... 8 Welcome! El Camino... 9 Volunteer Info Finance Update He finished and there was an awed silence at his testimony as he moved toward his seat. As he sat down a little old lady sitting in the same pew leaned over and said to him: I dare you to do it again. Did you know that God dares us to trust him with our wealth? Hear these words from Malachi 3:10 Bring your full tithe to the Temple treasury so there will be ample provisions in my Temple. Test me in this and see if I don't open up heaven itself to you and pour out blessings beyond your wildest dreams. For my part, I will defend you against marauders, protect your wheat fields and vegetable gardens against plunderers...you'll be voted 'Happiest Nation.' You'll experience what it's like to be a country of grace." (The Message) The Amplified Bible puts it this way: Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. Do you trust God enough to take him up on his offer? Dare you! Grace and Peace, 10/11 - Holy Strollers Mom s Group- NEW! 10/13 - Unload Pumpkins at Christ Lutheran 10/18 - Prayer Shawl Ministry 10/22 - Women s Ministry Dinner 10/27 - Girls Night Out 10/29 - Covenant Sunday 10/29 - Fall Festival 11/3 - Family First Friday (details TBA) 12/26-12/31 - Christmas UM Army

2 OCTOBER 1: Norman Wood Edward Conaway Joan Henshaw OCTOBER 3: Jim Hemphill Dominic Staniszewski OCTOBER 4: Marjorie King Don Cameron OCTOBER 5: Deana Wheeler OCTOBER 6: Tom Pearson OCTOBER 7: Jackson Millar Terry Rester OCTOBER 8: Cynthia Hancock OCTOBER 9: Bill Leshikar Eugene Moore OCTOBER 12: Weston Scott Mitchell Escuriex Adeline Webb OCTOBER 13: Margaret Bachman Nancy Astello Jared Pearson OCTOBER 14: Colette Helmintoller Prella Phillips OCTOBER 15: Dennis Wood Abigail Rios OCTOBER 17: Virginia Settlemyre OCTOBER 18: Tom Pruett OCTOBER 21: Sandra Boston Alisha Klehm Angela Pearson OCTOBER 22: Diane Poston Dean DeAtley OCTOBER 25: Trena Moses Tim Daeschner OCTOBER 26: Grant King Richard Barnhart OCTOBER 27: Sue Roundtree Ethan Milner OCTOBER 30: Darrell C. Copenhaver Doug Cannon Dwight Steffler OCTOBER 31: Ranelle Hampy October 29th Covenant Sunday 2

3 SYMPATHIES. MEMORIALS. Donations have been made to FUMC in memory of: On the death of: HELEN DAVIS PAUL O. WILSON Condolences can be sent to his parents: by: Mary Florence Platt Joe & Zoe Wilson (Joe was a former pastor here) 275 White Heron Dr. Georgetown, TX jwbish@suddenlink.net by: JANICE SEIDULE Warren Williams & Freda Filipp On the death of: RAY TRAHAN Condolences can be sent to his brother-in-law: by: NAN GORSUCH Delbert & Glynda Smith Robert Orr 414 Huckleberry Dr. Lake Jackson, TX ELEANOR WALKER by: Bob & Wilda Patton On the death of: CLYDE BARTON Condolences can be sent to his wife: Jane Barton 701 Pelican Nest Dr. Aransas Pass, TX We will be collecting dish soap for the Food Basket, as our Thanksgiving drive. Please leave your donations in the narthex or bring to the front office. Thank you!! Always pray to have eyes that see the best in people, a heart that forgives the worst, a mind that forgets the bad, and a soul that never loses faith in God! 3

4 Children s Ministry O C T O B E R M A R K Y O U R CAL E N D A R Oct. 13th help unload pumpkins at Christ Lutheran for the pumpkin patch. All proceeds benefit Society of St. Stephen. Oct. 29th Fall Festival 5-7 PM Volunteers sign ups are in Sunday school rooms. Nov. 3rd Family First Friday (details TBA) I am excited to share that we are using a new curriculum in Sunday school and Children s church. Deep Blue is user friendly and provides our kids with many hands on ways to explore God s word. El Camino kids This month we will be focusing on of my favorite Bible heroes David! Through David s story our children are able to understand what it really means to look at others through the eyes of Christ. Our memory verse this month is The Lord sees into the heart. -1 Samuel 16:7 We have been abundantly blessed to have the children of the El Camino Church join our Sunday school classes. It is so exciting to see our classes full and our kids sharing Christ s love with others. With more kids, comes more volunteer opportunities! If you are interested in volunteering in Children s church or Sunday school, please call Lindsay Pulido at

5 Holy Strollers As a Mom of a preschooler, this group is very near and dear to my heart. As we all know, our precious little gifts from above don t come with a manual. They come with lots of demands, missed sleep, mountains of diapers, and an ability to make us question our every move. Wednesday, October 11th 9:15AM - 10:15AM Registration link on Facebook@FirstUMCLakeJackson The one thing I have learned in the trenches of motherhood is that when I feel like I am not enough as a mother, God is ALWAYS enough. His strength and guidance will never fail to provide me with my portion. With that portion, I teach my son how to also turn to the Son. Jesus takes the guess work out of parenting! Please join me and other moms just like you, who desire to deepen their faith and learn to let God guide us and refuel us in our neverending tasks as mothers. 5

6 October 2017 SUNDAY NIGHT YOUTH SCHEDULE Kim Copeland - Youth Director youth@ljfumc.org Vannysa Vega - Youth Ministry Asst. vannysa.rojas@gmail.com Oct 15 - Orchard Work at the Food Basket - 3:45-6pm Oct 22 - Movie Night Out - Same Kind of Different as Me - Time TBD Oct 29 - Help with the Children s Ministry Fall Festival 4:30-7pm Nov 5 - Gagaball and Game Night in Wesley Hall with Pizza 5-7pm (Sunday School Teacher Training will be from 6 to 7:30 in the Youth Center) Nov 12 - Bible Night with Jeopardy and a Scavenger Hunt 5-7pm Nov 19th - No Sunday Night Youth - Happy Thanksgiving Over the summer, I prayed about ways that a youth council could really make a difference for our youth group. Vannysa and I came up with new roles and the students shown below have really embraced being on the council. Here are the roles for the Youth Council: Presidents/Chaplains - responsible for devotionals once a month and planning Sunday night youth a few times per year Council Chair for Games - responsible for planning special games and events when needed Council Chair for Special Needs - responsible for helping students who are not interested or able to participate in planned youth activities Historian - responsible for taking pictures and posting to First Youth social media accounts Council for Younger Ministries - responsible for helping with Submerge Bridge ministry to youth (for 5th & 6th graders) We also have two other 8th graders that will be helping with Submerge on a more limited basis. Back Row: Seung Jang (Co-President), Bryson Wintjen (Co-President) and Caleb Edinger (Games Co-Chair). Front Row: Natalie Anderson (Historian), Becca Moore (Special Needs Chair), Loren Whitehead (Submerge helper), Courtney Danford (Younger Ministries Chair), and Michael Lee (Games Co-Chair). Not Pictured is Drew Cameron (Submerge Helper). 6

7 Submerge is a bridge ministry for 5th & 6th Graders. It helps students get prepared for the youth group when they move to 7th grade. We usually meet on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month (with some exceptions for holidays and special events). We have devotionals, eat snacks, do special projects, and hang out with other 5th & 6th graders. All 5th & 6th grade friends are welcome. Initiating our newest Youth Members Youth Mem- Initiating our newest bers October 22nd - Submerged in Leaves November 12th - Submerged in Thanksgiving December 10th - Submerged in Baby Jesus Christmas UM Army On our way to UM Army Christmas UM Army is Dec 26 through Dec 31 in Beaumont, TX. If you are interested in going, please let me or Vannysa know. All current high school and college students and adults are welcome to attend. September Youth Pics 7

8 Our goal is to promote growth opportunities for women in our church through spiritual, service, and social activities. GIRLS NIGHT OUT Friday, October 27 5:30pm La Casona Contact Mary Helen Israel, or CIRCLE MEETING at CARRIAGE INN 3rd Monday of each month 9:30AM Contact Phyllis Motes, Women's Ministry Dinner Sunday, October 22, 5PM Asbury Room Join us as we share a meal, enjoy fellowship and help us shape this ministry into God's instrument for the ladies in our community of believers. LADIES COVENANT GROUP 1st & 3rd Sundays 5:30pm in Wilson Parlor Childcare available MOM S in PRAYER GROUP Every Monday (during school year) 9:30am Wilson Parlor PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY October 18th 3rd Wednesday of each month 11AM Contact Linda Neumann blneumann@hotmail.com 8

9 We are excited to welcome the El Camino Church of the Nazarene! Iglesia El Camino, Una Iglesia Para Todos This Spanish-speaking congregation is now using our chapel for their worship services. Pastors Erick and Leda López recently visited all three of our worship services to thank us for allowing them to use our facilities. Ed Suazo, a member of our church and serving as a liaison between the two congregations, translated their enthusiastic and grateful comments. We will continue to have our 8 o'clock worship service in the chapel. At 10 o'clock the El Camino church will have a Spanish-speaking adult Sunday school class while their children will join in our children's Sunday school program. At 11 o'clock they will have a Spanish-speaking worship service in the chapel followed by fellowship time. The Nazarene denomination, like the United Methodist Church, trace their roots directly to John Wesley and the Methodist movement. Their theology is very similar to that of the United Methodist Church. Theology was one of the many topics covered in numerous conversations over the last few months. These discussions not only included the clergy from both congregations but also the respective district superintendents. Our Worship Team, Ministry Coordinating Team, Children's Ministry and Youth Ministry were asked for their input, as well. We received guidance from insurance and legal specialists, as well as others who have had similar arrangements. Our Board of Trustees finalized the agreement, which was then approved by our Administrative Board and has received enthusiastic response throughout both congregations. We are excited that this church will be able to reach the Spanish-speaking population in our community. And we pray that the kingdom of God will be furthered. If you know someone who would enjoy worshiping in a Spanish-speaking service, invite them to our chapel at 11 o'clock Sunday mornings! 9

10 Dear Rev. Lynne Settlemyre, Rev. Peter Cammarano, Curly Leshikar and Irene Standard: My name is Kathy Sims and I am the coordinator for the Pumpkin Patch at Christ Lutheran church. Each year a community charity is selected to receive money from the pumpkin sales. This year the money will go to the Society of St. Stephen. As you know, this organization provides assistance with rent and utilities payments. With so many folks flooded out of their homes by Harvey, there is an even greater need for this type of help. I am sending this to you to ask if you could rally the members of your congregation and supporters of the Society of St. Stephen to please help us unload the pumpkin truck. It usually takes about 3-4 hours to unload the truck. Although it is physical work, there are tasks for many levels of physical ability. There are small pumpkins and gourds to be set out, as well as the large pumpkins. Over the years, we have developed a bucket brigade work process that allows volunteers to handle the pumpkins with the minimum amount of effort. The pumpkin truck is scheduled to arrive at 4 PM on Friday, October 13th (a school holiday). Sometimes the truck arrives early, so volunteers can check the Christ Lutheran church Facebook page for updates. The patch will provide pizza and water for all the volunteers. Volunteers may find gloves to be helpful. Student volunteers needing service hours can sign in at the tent when they arrive, and they will be put to work. When the student volunteers leave, they can sign out at the tent and record their total volunteer hours. If they have a form, someone will sign it then, otherwise I will a list, with hours, to the organization sponsors. Thank you for your help and please let me know if you have any questions! Kathy Sims Patch Coordinator Cell: The Women s Center of Brazoria County is in need of volunteers to help at their resale shop. Interested persons can fill out a volunteer application at the main office, located at 715 N. Valderas in Angleton. For more information, call David Moore, Society of St. Stephen News September was a busy month for Society of St. Stephen. Our clients often live from paycheck to paycheck. When disaster strikes, whether it is in the form of an unexpected illness, a car breaking down, or a hurricane, they need assistance. Some of our clients evacuated for Hurricane Harvey. Evacuation cost them extra money, even as they were not getting paid for time missed from work. One lady who lives in Freeport evacuated from the threat of Hurricane Harvey. Her apartment manager was willing to work with residents, and waived late fees, but she had missed work due to evacuating and realized that she would be short of funds to pay her bills. She was proactive and called us before her rent was due. Her rent was $850. We were able to assist her with $200, our limit for rent assistance. She had money to pay toward her rent, but still could not pay all of her rent. We contacted River of Hope. They also helped her, so with money from her next paycheck, she was able to pay her entire rent. She said that with this assistance, she would be able to meet all of her expenses the next month! Your support of Society of St. Stephen enables our organization to serve as the hands of feet of Jesus! 10

11 A message from. Reformation Sunday While the secular world celebrates Halloween on October 31, the church will observe Reformation Day, commemorating Martin Luther's founding of what became the Protestant movement. As we celebrate the rediscovery of the good news of salvation by grace through faith, we give thanks to God for our many blessings and commit to giving back to Him regularly through our time, talents and treasures. Our financial partner, Heartspring Methodist Foundation, can help with the "treasures" aspect. Contact Heartspring at , or to discuss ways to make your financial contributions go farther Communion Offerings Amount Given Finance Committee Update Stewardship Report as of 9/30/2017 Budget needs weekly... $ 13,565 Budget needs to date... $ 529,033 Budget receipts to date... $ 492,618 January Pastor's Discretionary Fund $ February Freeport Port Ministry $ 1, March - UMCOR $ April - Easter Offering $ 13, May - Golden Cross $ 1, June - Prison Ministry $ 1, July - Habitat for Humanity $ August - Crystal Crafters $ September -UMCOR/TAC/LOCAL Flood Relief $ 11, October - Society of St Stephen $ 4, November - Food Basket December - Christmas Offering will still be honoring receipts. On your next trip there, please keep your receipt and turn it in to the church office. We will get the collected receipts back to Arlan's, who will then donate a percentage of the total purchases back to our church. 11

12 First United Methodist Church 404 Azalea St. Lake Jackson, TX PERIODICALS # LAKE JACKSON, TX Phone: Fax: Visit us online - Pastor: Dr. Lynne Settlemyre - pastor@ljfumc.org Administrative Pastor - Rev. John Settlemyre - johns@ljfumc.org Children s Director: Lindsay Pulido - children@ljfumc.org Youth Director: Kim Copeland - youth@ljfumc.org Choir Director: Laura Mays Contemporary Music Director: Jordan Goldman Address Service Requested The Messenger is published monthly by the First United Methodist Church, Lake Jackson, TX Periodicals Postage paid at Lake Jackson, TX POSTMASTER: Send address changes to FUMC, 404 Azalea, Lake Jackson, TX First United Methodist Church 404 Azalea St. Lake Jackson, TX Our church library will be reopening early next year. If you are interested in helping with preparations to reopen the library, please call Kimberly Bowers, First Church strives to be like Jesus! In the mean time, everyone is invited to stop by the library hallway and answer our bulletin board questions: Praising God! Teaching God s Word! Loving One Another! Strengthening Families! Sharing the Good News! What's your favorite book/author? What's your favorite type of story? 12