FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Covington, TN. Covington First Welcomes Sarah Smith, Coordinator of Children s Ministries!

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1 FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Covington, TN March 14, 2018 A Bi-Monthly Publication Covington First Welcomes Sarah Smith, Coordinator of Children s Ministries! Your Staff-Parish committee is pleased to announce the hiring of Sarah Smith as our new Coordinator of Children s Ministries. When our leadership team convened last January, the number one priority for our congregation was determined as Enhancing and Strengthening Children & Family Ministries. In support of this objective, we determined to make a commitment to specific program staffing: children s ministry helpers/assistants, minister of discipleship or teaching minister, or a highly qualified minster to children & families. This decision was made in a response to a conscious decision to grow. Sarah will be working closely with the Children s Ministry Team (chaired by Angela Clark) and other staff members to plan high quality teaching & spiritual formation for our children. Her schedule will be half-time and she will be present on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings to equip our volunteers and help welcome our children and teachers. She will also work with the Children s ministry to plan Vacation Bible School and quarterly fun, familyfriendly learning events for our children. Sarah s background includes a depth of experience in working with children and volunteers. She currently works part-time at First Baptist of Millington where she teaches in the two-year old Mother s Day Out program. She serves as a volunteer with the Girl Scouts and is Vice-President of the Covington Parent- Teacher Organization at Austin-Peay Elementary and Brighton Middle Schools. Sarah has been an active volunteer with the Covington Food Pantry here at First United Methodist for the last five years. Her initial duties will involve getting to know our children and volunteers and traveling to a few larger local United Methodist Churches to study how their children s programs are structured. Sarah was born in Wisconsin and came to this area by means of her father s service in the U.S. Navy. She is a graduate of Bolton High School and attended Southwest Community College. She is a licensed lifeguard, and holds certifications in CPR, kayaking, canoeing and archery. Sarah is married to Robert who is a website/information technology consultant and has two children. Her son, RJ McConnaughy, is an eighth grade student at Brighton Middle School. His hobbies include golf, hockey, and video gaming. RJ is an avid swimmer and loves waterparks. Sarah s daughter, Alanna Alston, is a seventh grade student at Brighton Middle School. She is a Cadette in Girl Scouts and very active in our community. She plays clarinet and keyboard, and loves to do all kinds of multi media art. Please join me in praying for and encouraging Sarah as she begins this new chapter in her own life and helps usher us into a new era as well! In Christ, Pastoral Staff Rev. Dan Camp Senior Pastor dcamp@covingtonfumc.com Care Staff Dr. Faye Beckett Congregational Care ftrumbo@att.net Kendy Erwin Hospitality Care kerwin1962@att.net Outreach Staff Liz Newman Director of Outreach ewnewman2@gmail.com Program Staff Andrew Davis Youth Ministries ajdavis915@gmail.com Carole Mathis MorningSong Worship Leader cmathis@tipton-county.com Sarah Smith Children s Ministry Coordinator sarah.french.smith@gmail.com Dr. Bonnie Wright Director of Music bwright@tipton-county.com Office Support Staff Sandy Burgess Administrative Assistant sburgess@covingtonfumc.com Holley Mills Morris Business Administrator hmmorris@covingtonfumc.com Musician Justin Hanson, Organist Facilities Rebecca Paris Custodian F U MC Office Hours: 9: 00 a. m. - 5 :00 p. m. M ond a y-fri da y Kenny Summers Maintenance Pastor Dan Leading Others to Christ, Learning to 1 Be Disciples, Loving through Service.

2 UNITED METHODIST WOMEN Ruth Circle 2 nd Monday of each month 12:00 p.m. Fellowship Hall Mary Martha Circle 2 nd Tuesday of each month 9:30 a.m. New Beginnings Classroom UMW RUTH CIRCLE UMW Ruth Circle met Monday, March 12 th at noon. Attending were Sandy Burgess, Wanda Butler, Mary Jane Crotty, Doris Ann Gray, Cheri Jones, Liz Newman, Kaye Smith, Dianne Stone and Kyle Witherington. They enjoyed a wonderful lunch prepared by Mary Jane, discussed the legacies of women and prepared bags to distribute to the homeless. All women are invited to join us at either Circle meeting. Times and locations are listed to the left. CALLING BAKERS OF ALL AGES United Methodist Women will hold a bake sale, Sunday, March 18 th before and after both services. Tables will be set up in the Christian Life Center and the hallway leading to the Sanctuary. Donations of whole cakes, pies, bread and cupcakes may be dropped off at the church Friday, March 16 th or brought the morning of the sale. Church Offices will be closed Friday, March 30th in observance of Good Friday. 2

3 EASTER LILY ORDERS Orders for Easter lilies will be taken now through March 21 st. You may order in honor of or in memory of a loved one. Lilies are $15 and will be displayed during services on Palm Sunday and Easter. You may take your Easter lily home after the services on Sunday, April 1 st. Order forms will be available on the usher s table in the Sanctuary and the front table in the Christian Life Center. Forms may be placed in the offering plate, given to an usher or turned in to the church office. Payment must be made at time of order. Please make checks payable to First United Methodist Church. LIVING CROSS This Easter, to celebrate Christ s resurrection, we will have a wooden cross located at the front of the church to cover with spring flowers. Everyone is invited to bring whatever is blooming in your yard or bring silk flowers to contribute to the cross. Please bring your flowers early Easter Sunday morning, April 1 st. EASTER CANDY DONATIONS Collection boxes for Easter candy have been placed in the lobby of the Christian Life Center and in the hallway leading to the Sanctuary. Please drop off your donations by Sunday, March 18 th. Children, don t forget to bring your Easter baskets for the egg hunt March 25 th.! One Worship Sunday, March 25th 11:00 a.m. Sanctuary Potluck Lunch at noon followed by Children s Easter Egg Hunt Sunday School 9:45 a.m. 3

4 CONFIRMATION RETREAT Mark your calendar for the next Confirmation retreat being held at Lakeshore United Methodist Assembly in Eva, TN. March Being Methodist For more information, please contact Andrew Davis at or Cost is $50 per participant. BREAD OF LIFE FOOD PANTRY Volunteers at the Munford Food Pantry provided Easter baskets to children of the patrons during the month of March. Thank you for the generous donations that made this possible! MOVING TO TEXAS Mary Louise Ezell is moving to Texas! She will be deeply missed and wishes to stay in touch with her Covington FUMC family. Her new address is: 3705 Seven Oaks Drive Fort Worth, TX March 16 March 17 March 20 March 21 March 25 March 26 Elaine Crown March 29 Jodi Turner George Robert Baddour Jeff Mitchell March 18 Joey Caldwell March 30 Taylor Henderson Catherine McCalla March 31 Joseph Clark April 1 John McDaniel Jared Burdette April 2 Andi Katherine Edwards Tommy Fullen Katie Hart April 4 Cameron Ray April 5 Cody Erwin April 6 Lily Ford Josh Griffin Brittany Jackson Kirk Winberry Scott Seagrave June Whitley Dustin Phelps Tom Rogers Lola Sprenkle Cayla Cook Todd Locke Staci Sullivan Maddie Pugh Loren Crown Isabella Hughes Tommy Flanagan Ava McCalla Jonathan Stewart 4

5 UNPLUGGED EVENT Unplugged was a great success for the youth from Covington FUMC and Troy United Methodist Church. Thirty-seven were in attendance for worship, food, fun and fellowship Friday, March 2 nd and Saturday, March 3 rd. A big thank you to the First Presbyterian Church for the use of their Sanctuary for worship Saturday. This was a highlight for many of the youth. Guest speakers, Alexis Finley and Brett Coker provided inspirational messages during worship times and comedian, Lee Hardin was on hand to provide awesome comic relief. Youth also visited Parkway Cove Assisted Living to sing with the residents while another group helped at the food pantry. Thank you to all of the volunteers for cooking, setup, cleanup and to Andrew for making this such a memorable event. Worship time. Lee Hardin s comedy show. Give your burdens to the Lord. BEST BED HEAD CONTEST WINNERS Sunday, March 11t h, children came to church in their pajamas and competed in the Best Bed Head Contest to bring in Daylight Savings Time. Grown-ups were envious and also wanted to participate but were brushed from competition. Winners were selected by an elite group of judges, Susan Turner, Anne Thornton and Helene Kramer. Trent Thornton Winner MorningSong Children s Church Lane Clark Winner Sunday School 5 Murphy Jones Winner Traditional Children s Church

6 CHILDREN S CHURCH VOLUNTEERS March 18 MorningSong: Laura Thornton and Jonathan Stewart Traditional Service: Angela Clark March 25-No Children s Church NURSERY VOLUNTEERS March 18 MorningSong: Neely Turner Sunday School Hour: Hope Turner Traditional Service: Volunteer Needed March 25-One Worship Sunday School Hour: Volunteer Needed One Worship Service: Volunteer Needed Contact Sarah Smith to volunteer: sarah.french.smith@gmail.com Phone: UPPER ROOM PRAYER MINISTRY SCHEDULE March 18 MorningSong Service Ellen Clark Lane Clark Doris Ann Gray Traditional Service Cathy Adams March 25-One Worship Volunteers Needed COMMUNION OFFERING Thank you for your generous Communion offering of $ to benefit Reelfoot Rural Ministries. For more information, visit their website: March 4, 2018 MorningSong Worship - Sunday School - Traditional Worship - Bread of Life Worship - MorningSong Offering - Traditional Worship Offering $2, $7, March 11, 2018 MorningSong Worship - Sunday School - Traditional Worship - Bread of Life Worship - MorningSong Offering - Traditional Worship Offering $ $11,

7 # of Awards February 24 through March 9, 2018 Amount SAMARITAN FUND TOTALS Type of Assistance 0 $ 0 Bus Ticket 0 $ 0 Food 5 $ Lodging 0 $ 0 Miscellaneous 1 $ Rent 15 $ Utilities 0 $ 0 Vehicle Gas 21 $ Totals Children: Senior Adults: Adults: Total Individuals: Fixed Income: Lost Jobs: # of Awards As of March 12, 2018 Samaritan Balance: $3, Year-to-Date Totals Amount Children: Senior Adults: Adults: Total Individuals: Fixed Income: Lost Jobs: Type of Assistance 0 $ 0 Bus Ticket 0 $ 0 Food 54 $ 3, Lodging 3 $ Miscellaneous 11 $ Rent 88 $ 4, Utilities 4 $ Vehicle Gas 160 $ 8, Totals ROUNDUP UTILITY ASSISTANCE February 24 through March 13, Households were interviewed CES: 10 total households 4 approved totaling $ declined totaling $1, CGWS: 7 total households 4 approved totaling $ declined totaling $ This winter has been a tough one for many in our community. The extremely cold temperatures brought exorbitantly high utility bills two months in a row. Many times utility bills were double their normal amount and occasionally triple. During a normal month, Samaritan patrons struggle to make ends meet. An unusual event, such as an extremely high utility bill, can easily cause a detrimental snowball effect. Families can quickly get behind on utility bills, rent, insurance, and even medical bills. A young woman came seeking assistance with her water bill. Her electric bill the previous month had been twice the normal amount. Because she heated with electricity and had two young children, she had opted to pay the electricity bill and not pay her water bill. Her water service was cut off. The family had been borrowing water from neighbors and friends for over two weeks. Her plan had been to get the water turned back on when her next disability check came in, but the next month s electric bill was also high and now Children s Services was threatening to take her children because she had no running water. Your generosity, Christian love, and desire to help those less fortunate enabled not only this young woman to reestablish her water service, keep her family together and stop the snowball effect, but it has also helped many other families make it through a hard winter. I am humbly blessed to represent your kindness, all glory to God. 7

8 Memorials and Tributes In Honor of Arise2Read Volunteers Arise2Read Fund by Chris and Sara Gangaware In Honor of Ann Caldwell Good Samaritan Fund by Ed and Marie Timberlake In Honor of Food Pantry Volunteers Food Pantry Fund by Chris and Sara Gangaware In Memory of Rose Glanz Landscaping Fund by Shirley Bready Good Samaritan Fund by Ed and Marie Timberlake In Memory of Thad Glenn Good Samaritan Fund by Earl and Faye Beckett Landscaping Fund by Shirley Bready Arise2Read Fund by Don and Ellen Clark Good Samaritan Fund by Skip and Kendy Erwin Good Samaritan Fund by Mr. and Mrs. George Lumpkin Christian Life Center Fund by Stephen and Kaye Smith Good Samaritan Fund by Ted and Carolyn Turner In Memory of Rodney Hughes Arise2Read Fund by Don and Ellen Clark In Memory of Janet Klutts Good Samaritan Fund by Earl and Faye Beckett Landscaping Fund by Shirley Bready Arise2Read Fund by Don and Ellen Clark Christian Life Center Fund by Stephen and Kaye Smith In Memory of Rebecca May Landscaping Fund by Shirley Bready Christian Life Center Fund by Stephen and Kaye Smith In Honor of Liz Newman Arise2Read Fund by Chris and Sara Gangaware In Honor of Dot Peyton Good Samaritan Fund by Skip and Kendy Erwin In Memory of Allen Wooten Arise2Read Fund by Don and Ellen Clark Good Samaritan Fund by Ed and Marie Timberlake BE A BRIGHT SPOT IN SOMEONE S DAY! Every Tuesday, a devotion is given by local pastors to residents at Covington Care and River Terrace nursing homes. Volunteers are needed to assist before the devotion time by helping residents get to the designated area. Times you are needed would be 1:30 p.m. at River Terrace and/or 2:00 p.m. at Covington Care. Please contact Earl Beckett at to help with this important ministry. 8

9 Billy Anderson Donna Beard Faye Beckett Paul Bierman Joe Campodonico Amber Corbitt Cimadevilla Cassie Evans Betty Ford Jackson Hughey Peggy Massey Jane Mayfield Kelly Mayfield Dot Peyton Emogene Ray Shannon Reed Carolynn Scruggs Bettye Shelley BJ Smith Jim Smith Joyce Stottlemyer Bart White Everett Williams Geri Wilson Dr. Barney Witherington III Mae Belle Wright Sherrie Wright CONDOLENCES Robert Bob Wallace passed away Monday, March 12. Mr. Bob is Tim Wallace s uncle. Please keep the family in your prayers. COUNSELING Faye Beckett, D.C.C. Doctorate in Christian Counseling. For appointments call the Counseling Ministry: Empowering others to reach their God given purpose. Cindy Pease, M.H.S.P., Licensed Professional Counselor, Nationally Certified. For appointments call the FUMC office , ext. 17. Counseling is available for individuals, couples or families. Fees are based on ability to pay. 9

10 WORSHIP BROADCASTS Live radio broadcast of the Traditional Worship on WKBL AM 11 a.m. Live streaming of the traditional service is available at Traditional services are also archived at our website and can be viewed online anytime. WORSHIP TIMES MorningSong Service Sundays at 8:30 a.m. Christian Life Center Sunday School 9:45 a.m. Traditional Service Sundays at 11:00 a.m. Sanctuary First United Methodist Church 145 W. Church Avenue Covington, TN Phone: Fax: covingtonfumc@covingtonfumc.com Website: Facebook: Twitter: twitter.com/fumccovington 10