The Messenger. Come expectantly seeking Jesus. Follow Him boldly. Go witness intentionally OCTOBER,2014

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1 The Messenger Quitman, Texas Transforming God s Children Into Disciples OCTOBER,2014 KINGDOMTIDE...the season of the Christian year where we learn more about God s kingdom and our place in it. Come expectantly seeking Jesus. Follow Him boldly. Go witness intentionally Vibrant Church Initiative!!! The Vision Team has come up with exciting statements concerning our church s participation in VCI! The main focus will be on three actions: COME expectantly seeking Jesus; FOLLOW Him boldly; GO WITNESS intentionally. After explaining the details, Chairman Sharon Thomas presented the Vision to the Church Council; it was approved. The next step is to evaluate every segment of our ministries, at home and elsewhere, to meet the above goals. Each ministry should be inspirational, concise, memorable and clear. Our vision will be a cycle of discipleship in growing disciples for Jesus Christ. Join us each week to make it real!! Bill Hedges Vibrant Church Initiative Timelines October Conduct Leadership/Staffing Audit Develop Aligned Job Descriptions Implementing Staffing Changes Develop Communication Plan Bridging to the Community

2 Dear Friends, A note from our pastor The Mission of the United Methodist Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. This mission is based upon Matthew 28:18-20 in Jesus words to the disciples before he went to heaven. To accomplish Christ mission to make disciples and transform the world individuals and congregations must have a vision to fulfill the mission. A vision must come from God, and be founded on scripture. The most famous scripture of vision is found in Proverbs 29:18. Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. King James Version Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but happy is he who keeps the law. New King James Version Where there is no prophecy the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law. Revised Standard Version Where there is no prophecy, the people cast off restraint, but happy are those who keep the law. New Revised Standard Version Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law. New International Version Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law. New American Standard A nation without God s guidance is a nation without order. Happy is the man who keeps God s law! Today s English Version Where there is no one in authority, the people break loose, but a guardian of the law keeps them on the straight path. New English Bible With no one in authority, the people throw off restraint, but he who keeps God s law leads them on a straight path. Revised English Bible When there s no vision, the people get out of control, but whoever obeys instruction is happy. Common English Bible Ten different English translations of the Hebrew Bible that is slightly different in language but united in message. God s vision for the church and our individual lives is founded on Scripture and guided by the Holy Spirit. You will find the vision of First UMC elsewhere in this newsletter. Know it in your mind, and live it in your heart and God will continue to transform our lives to be like Christ and transform the world by His grace. Faithfully, Dick White Page 2 OCTOBER USHERS 8:30 a.m. Service Jerry Gibson Tommy Tucker 11:00 am Service Jerry Jackson (Leader) ( ) Will Burroughs Frank Dahloff Pat Neel Beth Moore ANYONE INTERESTED IN BECOMING AN USHER? We are always looking to add members to our usher teams to ensure we have adequate coverage at each service. If you are interested in joining us, please contact Darrell or Debby Slabaugh, East Texas Senior Box Program The ADULT BIBLE CLASS will be opening and closing JOY Hall on the second Friday in October. The hours for food pickup is from 9:30-12:00. East Texas Food Bank personnel will organize and administer the program. Intercessory Prayers for: Louise Hines, Margaret DeArmond., Nelda Dodd, Vicki Gibson, Vera Logan, Hugh and Arlene Donaldson, and Dee Hurley. Pres. John Johnson invites all men to the third Tuesday of the month at 6:30 pm. Bring a dish to share for the meal. QUITMAN ARBORETUM & BOTANICAL GARDENS ANNUAL FALL PLANT SALE OCTOBER 11, 2014 BEGINS AT 8:00 A M SPONORED BY FRIENDS OF THE ARBORETUM FOR INFO CALL Thought for the month Faith is Faith is trusting what the eye can t see. Eyes see the prowling lion, faith sees Daniel s angel. Eyes see storms, faith sees Noah s rainbow. Eyes see giants, faith sees Canaan. Your eyes see your faults. Your faith sees your Savior. Your eyes see your guilt. Your faith sees His blood. Your eyes look in the mirror and see a sinner; a failure, a promise-breaker. But by faith you look in the mirror and see a robed prodigal bearing the ring of grace on your finger and the kiss of your Father on your face. Max Lucado (copied)

3 Liberty Hayride Sunday October 26th 4:00 pm Food provided See you there!!! Crafty Christians First Thursday of the month 10:00 am at Liberty UMC There is a need for fabric appropriate for children, notions and embroidery floss to tie quilts. Contact Teddy Shampine Wednesday October 29th 5:30 till 7:00 pm FUMC parking lot Bring some CANDY Have a TRUNK Plan a GAME Come be a part of our annual familyfriendly fun. Hot dogs, treats, and more! FUMC Women s Retreat Saturday, November 8, :00 am 2:00 pm J.O.Y Hall He put a new song in my mouth. Psalm 40:3 Speaker: Cathy Messecar Theme: The Sound of My Song Special Music: Anna Stone Will McWhorter and Friends Mission Opportunity: Eternal Threads Tickets go on sale, Sunday, October 12 Cost: $15.00 Nursery available upon request.wedding Shower Honoring Kyla Emmert October 19th 1:30 3:oo pm Celebration Room in J.O.Y. Hall Selections: Walmart and Target Dear Friends, Thank you very much for the many kindnesses and prayers during Ken s illness and funeral. We are very grateful for the help, love and support given us from our church family. Sincerely, Edna Hurley Page 3

4 Taste and See a Bible study fellowship meal for young women in our community continues Oct 12-last page of Lesson 5 and Lesson 6 Nov 16 Dec 14 Join us to study the Fruit of the Spirit, to share a meal and to enjoy the company of other women at the home of Sharon from 6:30-8 PM St. Highway 182 Quitman, TX Study materials and dinner provided Child care available by reservation Call Elizabeth Taylor Contact Sharon Thomas We are looking for volunteers for Quitman Elementary School. Our volunteers set their own schedule and work where they would like. For example: library, photocopying, laminating, reading with children, lunch duty. If you are interested, please contact Mary Ann Nichols, , Ext. 1. All workers on the campus must fill in a criminal check. That is very simple and quick. Also.for retired people, who might need to go on trips! You can just call in and let us know you won t be there. It is fun, rewarding, and our students give lots of hugs! You have a shoe box, you ve wrapped it or decorated it and gotten your labels now it s time to decide who might receive your Operation Christmas Child gift! Did you know? ** The MOST BOXES they receive from donors all around the world at every processing center in every sending country is for Girls 5-9. Many moms of girls that age group in every country easily embrace the project and enjoy doing it with their own daughters. Many say it is just plain easier to shop for that group! Many people have expressed that they just don t know what to pack for these age groups. Don t worry! In the next week I will post lists for EVERY GROUP with tons of ideas! If for whatever reason at the distribution point the don t have boxes for them, they occasionally receive either Boy 5-9 or even Girl boxes. Does this mean that you should stop packing Girl 5-9 boxes? NO I think everyone should follow God s leading on their own heart and pack that box! It s just something to think about if you have no strong feelings either way. So PRAY as you shop and as you pack Prayer is an amazing part of Operation Christmas Child. Your box is just one piece of the 10 millio boxes that will be delivered to children around the world next year. Yet God sees that one child, his one special need, hears his one prayer, one hope, one dream. Through prayer we are moved to pick out just the exact age group, just the exact toy or hair clip or pair of shoes that fits, that delights, tha assures that child that they are loved and seen by their heavenly Father. Humbling, but exciting, isn t it? Operation Christmas Child Packing Party, Wednesday, November 5. We are collecting the month of October toiletries (soap and toothpaste) and small toys. Thanks, Mary Ann Page 4

5 Come expectantly seeking Jesus. Follow Him boldly. Go witness intentionally. y n t Following the Day of Visioning Workshop on August 16 th, the Vision Team began working. Our first step required us to conduct prayer walks and interviews to determine: 1) what our mission field is like; 2) who is receptive to our mission field; and 3) what are some ideas for reaching out to our mission field. Those who were passionate about a certain area organized teams including over 17 other FUMCQ members to observe, record, and then report to the Team. A format to do so was provided by our VCI Coach. Some mission fields explored were: QISD, CS food pantry, the Heritage Nursing Home, the Dogwood Apts. and our local laundromat. The Mayor, Wood Co. Sheriff, Quitman Police Chief, QISD Superintendent, E TX Crisis Center, WIC, and other community resources and shelters were interviewed. As the reports were read, the Team wrote down their impressions and discussed each mission field. Impressions were: be intentional or deliberate; there are needs beyond food; there is spiritual and emotional apathy that spreads like an infection ; children are abused in our midst; many grandparents and other extended family are rearing children; hopelessness; helplessness; isolation; invisible in the community. Our next step was to use these experiences to begin drafting a vision. What did we sense God desired to accomplish within and through our church in the next three years? Five Vision concepts were submitted by the Team. The concepts were discussed and each word was evaluated. A vision should be: inspirational, concise, memorable, and clear. We narrowed the choices down to two. Again, back to the editors with each member of the Team able to revise. We chose one concept and recognize our Vision to be a cycle of discipleship for both new disciples and for disciples growing in their obedience to Jesus. Everything (every class, program, activity and ministry) and everyone (staff and volunteers ) at FUMCQ will self-evaluate using this vision as their measuring tool as we continue to work the prescriptions from the consultation report. Your Vision Team: Miranda Asmussen, Dell Cox, Teresa and Randy Dunn, Sandra Grider, Beverly Waddleton and John Johnson, Darrell Slabaugh, and Sharon Thomas. Page 5

6 Some more Texas History The expansion of the railroads in Texas gave the impetus to the building of churches in new towns. In 1881, the Northwest Texas Conference agreed to return Leon, Freestone, Robertson, Milam, Falls and the southern portion of Limestone Counties to The Texas Conference. By the 1880s Texas had two emerging railroad systems. The first was concentrated in the northern Blackland Prairie, Dallas becoming its main focus. It ran from Dallas to San Antonio. This system tied Texas to the rest of the United States through St. Louis, Kansas City and Chicago. The other system was focused on Houston and Galveston Bay. Its motto was Where Seventeen Railroads Meet the sea. The Houston and Texas Central and Gulf Coast and Santa Fe rail lines tied most of the population in the six counties being ceded more closely to the Texas Conference where new towns were being established. Historical Atlas of Texas The LUD (Line Up and Dance) group just donated $ to the Building Fund at FUMC. Thanks for your generosity!!!!!!!!!! ALS Ice Challenge Dr. White our pastor and Taylor Ory our youth director took the ice challenge. Dr. White took the challenge from his son. ALS being dear to his family since his father passed away from ALS. A Blessing May you travel the world in peace, seeing trust in the eyes of little children, joy in the faces of Christian brothers and sisters, and wisdom and reassurance on the countenances of the aged. Page 6

7 LIBERTY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH : AN OLD CHURCH WITH A STRONG HEART LINES FROM LIBERTY. September was Pastor Appreciation Month and we certainly appreciate our Pastor Dick White. We even plan to appreciate him again in October. We now have a Hand Bell group. At least it is in training, led by JoAnn White, and will probably make an appearance soon. Rumbles heard from some of the trainees say this is hard! There is now an 8:30am Sunday morning Bible Study taught by Lenore Gasperin. Then when Sunday Services begin at 9:30am, Deborah Dopson teaches the Youth Sunday School. And, starting at 11:00 am, Bobbi Gyorfy (sometimes ably assisted by Rhonda & Ron Taylor) teaches a 2 nd adult Bible Study class. The Council, at their September meeting, instructed Treasurer Pat Bingham to pay off the entire remaining balance of our Fellowship Hall loan. The final amount owed was $3,557. We paid off this $33,000 loan in less than two years! We will soon host some kind of mortgage burning party. Led by Charles Jones, we now enjoy a Choir on Sunday mornings sort of. So far, we have a choral group of about a dozen singers and on two or three Sundays each month, the group sings a hymn early in the Service. The youth playground is being expanded. Support poles and a volley ball net were installed by Charles Harris and James Dopson. And now, a GAGA pit is being constructed under the direction of Woody Gasperin, Clarence Lee (and several friends they drafted). Personally, I have no idea what a GAGA pit is I am told it is a game something like dodge ball which we old timers played 60 years ago. We will see when the pit is finished and someone plays a game. October is the month of our Annual Hayride event at 4pm on the 26 th and the Trunk or Treat activity in Quitman which will be on the 29 th from 5:30 to 7pm. We are continuing to accept gifts for the shoebox charity. Ask Pat Bingham for details. Don t forget the CS Food Pantry, give money and food items on Communion Sunday. LOVING CONCERNS.. Our great friend Bob Young is still in Tyler, mostly in the hospital but I think presently he is in the rehab facility. Lewis Swann is at the Heritage in Quitman. And many others continue to have serious physical problems, or advanced age, or family sadness. We all know who they are and we should specifically recommend them to GOD each day in our prayers. A THOUGHT FOR NOVEMBER.. In a book he wrote over 100 years ago, Theodore Roosevelt, after his presidency, observed that some Christians he knew were rather thinly veneered with the religion they profess. HA! A very polite way of saying it! Let us all be careful that other people whom we encounter cannot make such an observation about us! Page 7

8 OCTOBER,2014 (L)- Liberty UMC 2 Carol Conway, Alston Johnson, Don Thomas 3 Barbara Thompson 4 Annette Simpkins 5 Connie Emmert 6 Joan Avery 8 Bob Young Shirley Irwin Brenda Andrews Gail Tifee (L) 9 Michael Hipp Cindy Neighbors 10 Dr.Dee Dopson 11 Emmett Dixon 13 Sue Cowsert 14 J.C. Waddell, Abby Dobbs, Miranda Asmussen, Bruce Grider 15 Avery von Reyn 16 Dyess Gardner Emily Woodruff Kingston Straznicky Jack Brown Carol Hawkins 17 Tony Ragsdale Sue Williams 18 Peyton Kruckner, Dianne Thompson 20 Dorothy Harbin (L) Chip Irons (L) 21 Robert King Patricia Ragsdale Ila Wisdom 23 Alexis O Neal 25 Lynn Emmert 26 Diana Kerr Randy Dunn 27 Weston Emmert Dick Roberts 29 Maverick Ranes (L) Madeline Ranes (L) Pete Kennard (L) 30 Joshua Medlin 31 Mindy Hipp Sonny Pierce (L) Darrell Slabaugh First United Methodist Church 406 E. Lane Street Early Worship 8:30 am Sunday School 9:45 am Worship 11:00 am Youth 4:30 pm Liberty United Methodist Church 2581 E. Hwy Sunday School 8:30 am Worship 9:30 am Sunday School 10:45 am HAVE YOU MOVED OR HAVE A NEW PHONE NO? If so, please contact the church secretary so she can update her records. Call her at First United Methodist Church P O Box 1643 Quitman, TX Non-Profit Org. US Postage Paid Permit No. 14 Quitman, TX Come before the Lord with thanksgiving.