Lenten Bible Study. First Things. Beginning February 18 th (details on page 2)

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1 F I R S T U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T C H U R C H First Things 101 E. First North Street Morristown, TN Phone: (423) Fax (423) fumc@fumcmorristown.org V O L U M E 7, I S S U E 0 2 F E B R U A R Y fumcmorristown Worship Times 8:15am Traditional Worship (Sanctuary) 9:15am Sunday School for All Ages 10:30am Traditional Worship (Sanctuary) 10:30am The Connection (Gym) Lenten Bible Study Bus Ministry Regency Pick-up times 9:00am & 10:15am Return to Regency 11:45am Newsletter Online The newsletter is posted online at A World Worth Saving: Lenten Spiritual Practices for Action by George Hovaness Donigan Beginning February 18 th (details on page 2)

2 P A G E 2 Dear Friends, I have two points of pride that I want to share with you. The first comes in the form of thanksgiving. At our Church Council meeting on January 23, 2018, we approved a budget of $1,089,512. Because of this, we feel confident that we will be able to continue to provide high quality worship, amazing programming, and support for ministries all over the world. Especially dear to me is the fact that we were able to offer competitive salary increases to our staff. They are an amazing group of people. Especially noteworthy in our budgetary process was the fact that you pledged approximately $35,000 more for 2018 than for 2017, for a total of $895,000. In addition, we received over $177,000 in non-pledged giving. That is approximately $27,000 more than we were expecting. Our Finance Committee did a great job of projecting our revenue for We missed the mark by only $257. The other point of pride is the Missions Festival which will occur Saturday, April 21st, and Sunday, April 22nd. I have heard rave reviews about previous Mission Festivals. Our guest speaker will be Randy Frye who is a former associate pastor at FUMC, Morristown. Randy currently serves as the senior pastor at Fountain City, UMC in Knoxville. He is a great speaker and has served for many years as the chairperson for the Holston Conference Missions Team. Other elements of the Missions Festival will be meals together, packaging food for Rise Against Hunger, worship services and workshops. We hope you will Save the Dates of April 21st and 22nd, and you will be in prayer for this significant event in the life of our church. God bless you, Walter Lenten Bible Study A World Worth Saving: Lenten Spiritual Practices for Action asks the questions, Why is it worth saving? and How are we called to do that? In this time of overwhelming cultural, political and spiritual need, can we make a difference, or do we just shrug our shoulders in despair? This Lenten season, FUMC will offer small group studies to move us beyond the Lenten practice of giving something up by using the spiritual disciple of fasting from apathy to guide persons as they seek to discover how God calls us to answer the questions of Why and How. There will be two distinct group types offered that participants may choose from, intensive and discussion (see options to the right). The intensive study will be more active. Participants in these groups will commit to weekly readings and activities for the duration of Lent. The discussion group option will focus more on discussion through the presentation of the material within the book. Facilitators will present the material and lead those gathered through discussion activities during the meeting times. Participants may wish to purchase the book, but reading is not required for participation. Small Group Options Sundays (Intensive) 6-7pm, Community Room Mondays (Discussion) 3pm, Regency, led by Ellen Fisher Wednesdays (Intensive) 5-6pm, Room 104/105 Wednesdays (Discussion) 6-7pm, Community Room with Pastors Wednesday Dinner: Adult Meals - $8 Kids Meals - $5 (ages 8 & under) A catered dinner will be available from 5:30-6:30pm in the gym. Reservations and payments are required the Sunday prior to each Wednesday dinner. No paying at the door. Check your Sunday bulletin, Facebook and FUMC website for weekly menu. Books: Books for this study are $10. You can purchase this book beginning February 4 when you make your reservation. Books are also available through Amazon if you would like to purchase an electronic copy. Registration: You must make reservation for the meal by the Sunday before the Wednesday night meal. Reservations & payment cannot be made at the door. Garry Brooks is in the church office on Sundays to take payment and reservations. Online reservations and payment can also be made on the church website. Have questions? Need more information? Contact Cynthia Thompson at revdrcynthia@gmail.com. F I R S T T H I N G S

3 V O L U M E 7, I S S U E 0 2 P A G E 3 Fence Ministry Needs You! The Fence Ministry needs your help in two ways: volunteering and giving. Donations of hats, gloves, scarves and socks for all ages are needed. Socks need to be thermal if possible. Money is always appreciated. A collection box for donations is located on the main floor by the elevator. Volunteers are needed to assemble bags periodically throughout the winter and to check the fence and replenish the bags. If you have questions or want to volunteer, please contact Leigh Travis ( ) or Nancy Renner ( ). Joyful Hearts Birthday Celebration Celebrate Your Birthday with Joyful Hearts! Thursday, February 15, am Gym Dr. John Welton (Willie Shakespeare) will entertain with a magic show. Dr. Welton is a Shakespearean actor and retired Carson Newman professor. Make your reservations and pay $8 for your meal in the church office by February 12. February s Mission: Warming Station at MATS. Note: This has been rescheduled from January because of the weather. Bible Study Opportunities All Things New - A Study on 2 Corinthians by Kelly Minter. It is a 9-week, DVD driven, and will start on Tuesday, February 6, at 10am in the Cornerstone building. Books are $13 are available in the church office. Nancy Renner will lead this study. Lamplighters for men meets every Sunday evening at 6pm in the Cornerstone building. Skip Frierson leads this group. Sign Up for 2018 Altar Flowers The following are the dates left to provide 2018 Altar Flowers in the sanctuary on Sunday mornings: April 29 May 6 June 3 August 19 November 19 The two arrangements on Sunday mornings are $35 (for the two) and provided by the Blossom Shop. They may be placed in memory, in honor or just because and a line will be printed in the bulletin each Sunday. Call the church office to reserve a Sunday now.

4 P A G E 4 Kids Choir Wednesdays, 4:45-5:15pm Children s Handbells 5-5:55pm Join us as we work hard and have fun learning to use the gifts of our voices to worship God. We will sing and play instruments as we learn about music and worship! Remember parents, singing in Children's Choir is more than just a way to pass the hour for musically gifted kids. Choir helps all children to: use their imagination memorize spiritual truths for life learn to listen discover and develop their singing voice worship with body, mind spirit and voice read words and music cooperate with others develop self-confidence experience joy move creatively serve others F I R S T T H I N G S

5 V O L U M E 7, I S S U E 0 2 P A G E 5 If you volunteered to donate water or Gatorade for the Upward program, please drop off those donations at the church office or contact Will Noe at to arrange pick up. Thanks for all you do for this ministry.

6 PAGE 6 Library Open House Sunday, February 25th 8am-Noon United Methodist Women The FUMC Library Team invites everyone to a drop-in Church-Wide Thank-you Library Open House on Sunday, February 25, to thank our congregation for your support and donations of books and DVDs during Come share hot spiced tea and cookies as you discover the new Children s Mobile Library, DVD & Small Group Media collections, and more. Plan to visit before or after Sunday School or worship services between 8am to 12noon. Elizabeth Circle will meet Thursday, February 1, at 10:30am at Regency. Contact circle leader Alice Starnes for more information. Mary Martha Circle will meet Sunday, February 11, at 11:45am in Room 204. Contact Alice Starnes for more information. Ruth Circle will meet Monday, February 12, at 11:30am in the Community Room. Contact Eugenia Bond for more information. Deborah Circle will meet Tuesday, February 13, at 6:00pm in the Cornerstone building. This is their annual Red Auction. Everyone is invited! Contact Jessie Goddard, Carolyn Short or Sara Simpson for more information. Snow Policy for Sunday Morning Worship In the event of inclement weather, cancellations will be made Saturday evening. For the latest updates, call the church office and follow the phone prompts. Text alerts will also be sent. To sign up for FUMC text alerts, please text "fumctext" to You may also tune in to WCRK (1150am) on your radio. FIRST THINGS

7 V O L U M E 7, I S S U E 0 2 P A G E 7 Looking Ahead Deadline for the March newsletter is February 8. Please bring your completely written articles, including pictures, to the church office or them to fumc@fumcmorristown.org. Game Night is Friday, February 9, at 6:00pm in the Community Room. Church Council will meet Tuesday, February 20, at 5:30pm in the Cornerstone building. Condolences to Mary Earle & Allison Hilton in the death of Rev. Roger Hilton on November 18. Donna Brewster in the death of her sister, Glenda Murrow, on December 22 in Mississippi. Funeral services for Mrs. Murrow were held in Mississippi on December 28. Mike Short in the death of his father, William R. Short, on December 27 in St. Louis, MO. Betty Purkey in the death of her brother, Joe Purkey, on January 9. A memorial service was held on January 12. Sherri Sullivan in the death of her mother, on January 10. Melanie Baxley in the death of her aunt, Carolyn Petty, on January 12 in Carthage, TN. The family & friends of Patty Alexander. Patty passed away on January 15. Funeral services were held at the church on January 19. The family & friends of Anna Mae Avery. Anna Mae passed away on January 15. A Memorial Service was held at the church on January 20. Ann Brown in the death of her brother, Edward Weidman, on Jan. 19. The family & friends of Eleanor Evans. She passed away on January 23. Funeral services were held January 26 at Allen Funeral Home. Robb Neill in the death of his brother, Al Neill, on January 25. Bob & Evelyn Grigsby in the death of their daughter-in-law, Marilyn Grigsby, on January 26. Funeral services were held in Greeneville on January 29. Mark Gaultney in the death of his father, William Gaultney, on Jan. 26. Funeral services were held in Rutledge on January 28. Worship at FUMC Traditional Worship 8:15am & 10:30am (Sanctuary) and The Connection 10:30am (Gym) February 4 They Knew Who He Was Traditional Worship: Walter Weikel The Connection: Asa Majors February 11 It s Good We were Here Traditional Worship: Walter Weikel The Connection: Asa Majors February 18 Fasting from Apathy Traditional Worship: Asa Majors The Connection: Walter Weikel February 28 Serving God, by Serving Others Traditional Worship: Asa Majors The Connection: Walter Weikel Our Discipleship Together December 12/03 12/10 12/17 12/24 12/31 Worship Sunday School N/A 149 Budget Offering $22,379 $23,280 $22,426 $33,216 $55,875 Have you remembered the church in your will? Faith Promise $920 $820 $2,035 $2,482 $5,984

8 First United Methodist Church 101 East First North Street Morristown, TN Reaching, Growing, and Serving RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED A Night to Remember