THE FUMC NEWSLETTER. First United Methodist Church ~ Great Falls, MT. Follow Jesus, Make Disciples, Transform Lives and Communities.

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1 First United Methodist Church ~ Great Falls, MT The FUMC Newsletter January 2017 THE FUMC NEWSLETTER January 2017 Volume 1 Follow Jesus, Make Disciples, Transform Lives and Communities. Notes from the Preacher Women, December 2016 My first Christmas as a young bride was going to be a special one. My husband and I had moved hundreds of miles away from family and friends, so when my in-laws decided to come join us for Christmas we were both excited. I could break out all the special wedding gifts we hadn t had a chance to use yet, and set a beautiful table, complete with cloth napkins and woven placemats. I had a complete place settings for six of our new Spring Blossom Corelle wear (remember those little green flowers?), glassware that hadn t had time to get cracked or broken and tableware that still had all its spoons. It was the height of elegance compared to the eclectic collection that had seen us through college. Our duplex was a tiny one bedroom. It was our first really grown up place as a married couple, and we couldn t wait to show it off to the family. There was only so much preparation I could do in terms of arranging furniture and decorating, but I made sure everything was spotless. Then the only worry was what to feed them. My two teenaged brothers-in-law (both over six foot) who were coming as well. The kitchen was miniscule, the oven less than standard size, and the thought of preparing in large quantities (not to mention well-prepared) was alarming. I had only cooked a turkey by myself once, and I wasn t at all sure I wanted to try something as complex as a holiday meal in front of my new mother-in-law. She was one of those people who made cooking look easy. My cooking skills were pretty basic. What could I do that would be good, but within my actual competence level? I worried about making a mess of things and being forever labeled as the incompetent daughter-in-law. I looked through my new cookbooks for ideas. Then it hit me! Crockpot! We had received a large Crockpot as a wedding gift, I had made a variety of delicious stews and soups that had kept us in meals for days for the two of us. Brilliant! A nice savory stew, some biscuits, a simple dessert, and no worries of a possible holiday calamity. Tasty, easy, and no possible way of messing it up. Phew. Disaster averted. The day finally came, I was so nervous about their visit, which made me doubly glad I had decided to go with my Crockpot idea. I was able to prepare everything before they arrived, I even had the coffee ready to pour into our lovely matching wedding gift mugs. Our living room, perfect for two, shrunk as six people filled up every available space. And it was a squeeze to get everyone around our tiny dining table, but we managed. The table did look beautiful. It was a proud moment, as we bowed our heads to say grace. I went into the kitchen to proudly carry my offering of stew to the table. Everything was going to be great. Perfect. It was as I began to fill our bowls that I realized there might just be a snag in my perfect plan. Our huge Crockpot normally kept the two of us in leftovers for days. However, with six adults, two of them strapping teenagers, it became painfully obvious that I had made a serious miscalculation. Continue on page 2..

2 2 The FUMC Newsletter January 2017 It took my brothers-in-law all of three minutes to finish off the stew. As I scraped the bottom of the ceramic pot, I struggled to keep myself from bursting into tears and making a run for it. The boys looked around, rather puzzled, as if expecting the main course to be hiding somewhere in the kitchen. My father-in-law tried to allay the awkward silence by announcing that if they were still hungry, they could just run down to 7-Eleven. This did not help, as the humiliation and shame of failure burned hot through my whole being. I m not sure how I got through the rest of that meal. My mother-in-law, bless her, never said a critical thing about it. She didn t even try to make me feel better, which in itself was a gift. It had seemed like such a good plan. Forty years later, it is still a memory that can make me laugh and blush to the roots of my hair at the same time. In the grand scheme of things, it is a tiny little blip on the screen of my life. But it is a sharp memory that reminds me that even playing it safe is no guarantee that I won t fail. I have always hated to fail at things. I have been a perfectionist for much of my life, thinking that if I can just get things right, I will be more worthy, more loveable, more acceptable. But the truth is, failure is just part of being human. Perfectionism is not the gift I though it was when I was young. I ve learned that trying to be perfect is more about fear of failing, than about my desire to do things well. So, I am a recovering perfectionist. I ve come to embrace failure (mostly) as part of living. I do not enjoy failing, mind you. But if I am going to live a life worth living filled with love, and grace and strong relationships to God and others, I will fail from time to time. And, if I am going to fail anyway, I would rather fail by throwing my whole self into the mysteries of God and living wholeheartedly than by playing it safe. So I put myself out there and (to stay with the food metaphors) burn the rolls, undercook the turkey, and forget to serve dessert. And when I do, I may blush to the roots of my being, and have to begin again. But, the lessons learned by being all in, or as Brené Brown says, daring greatly, are worth the cost. Failure is not a sin. Failure does not mean not good enough. Failure happens whether I am playing it safe or jumping in with both feet. But I never learn as much when I play it safe, as when I take the greater risk. I would rather fail risking greatly, loving extravagantly, serving faithfully than failing by playing it safe. So no more Crockpot stew for me (metaphorically, that is), I am going to go for the banquet, the 7 course meal, the whole crazy thing called living abundantly. I hope to see you at the table. If I burn the turkey, we can call out for Chinese. Happy New Year, Pastor Nancy Inside this issue... Preacher Woman Page 1 Preacher Woman Continued Page 2 About Us Page 3 Holding in prayer & Birthdays Page 4 Thursday Night Study Group & Making Connections Page 5 Service Opportunities & Thank You s Page 6 UMW, Church Conference & Family Promise Page 7 Comfort Food Classic benefit for Family Promise Page 8 January Events Calendar Page 9 Symphonic Choir Concert Page 10

3 3 The FUMC Newsletter January 2017 First United Methodist Church 610 2nd Ave. North P.O. Box 1444 Great Falls, MT Reverend Nancy Slabaugh Hart office home cell Office Hours Mon.~Thurs. 9 am~noon & 1~3 pm Friday 9 am~noon Sunday Worship Services 9:30 am in the Sanctuary Staff Pastor: Reverend Nancy Slabaugh Hart Administrative Assistant: Hollie King Musician: Sharman Tokerud Custodians: Ed & Patty Taylor Visit us on the web Rides for Vets offering in December was $89.71 Thanks for your support! Taxi Service Available Diamond Cab Taxi Service is available for Sunday worship service and all church meetings. It is paid for by the church. Call Diamond Cab at Give them enough time to make an appointment for you. Once you are at the church, just sign a voucher for their records. Don't forget we are on YouTube! There are two ways to find us: umcgreatfalls.org and click on the YouTube icon--or youtube.com/user/fumcgreatfallsmt Sunday Dec Dec Dec Dec :30 a.m. We also have DVD s available in the church office.

4 4 The FUMC Newsletter January 2017 Holding in Prayer January Birthdays For Healing: Darlene Braaten, Carole Hull, Dave Roberts, Alice Heisel, Sharon Graham, Clarence Borske, Ray Watson, John Lewis, Gary Stuart, Dorothy Holman, Isabella & Olivia Goldsmith (daughters of Sarah & Jeff Goldsmith), Pete Cladouhos, and Clarence Borske Jr.. For Continued Prayers: John Pelloni (grandson of Rise Pelloni), Tom Hillstrand, Elsie Chamberlain, Edwin Ted Byers (father of Connie Smith), Betty Heimbigner (sister of Opal Borkse), Rev. Joe & Toni Lawson, Lee Shockley, Herb Sherburne, Dave & Carole Lester (nephew & niece of Virginia Piatt), Beckie Frisbee, Cheri Brown (daughter of Lee Mattingly), Barbara Rooney, Bud Rooney, Tyler Brown (grandson of Lee Mattingly), Trevor Atcheson (friend of Beverly Constan), Darrold Martin, Ernest Hampton, Claire Stone (Granddaughter of Ruth Stone), Linda Stuart, and Jeanne Evenson. Strength and Support: Our love and prayers are extended to Dennis Brown, Libby lake and family on the passing of Marion Brown on December 2. Samantha Braaten 1/2 Janice Martin 1/2 Luella Welsh 1/2 Annalisa Krug 1/3 Maranna Dean 1/4 Herbert Sherburne 1/6 Ron Brumfield 1/7 Dan Spurgin 1/8 Leoan Mattingly 1/12 Ray Watson 1/14 Shirley Tonkin 1/17 Sharon Graham 1/18 Ed Warren 1/21 Steve Carpenter 1/26 Dacia Smith 1/28 We are in need of additional Ushers and Technical People for Sunday. If you are interested please contact the church office at Thank you!! We will be taking down the greens and holiday decorations on Sunday, January 1, 2017 after worship service. All help is very much appreciated!

5 5 The FUMC Newsletter January 2017 Chatty Hatter s It was a nice season of Chatty Hatter gatherings with six ladies present most of the time. We are moving along nicely on hats although we haven't made a recent count. We think AnnaMay Erickson is going for the record in number of hats made by one person...she is aiming for 50! Folks have asked where the hats will be distributed this year. Children and infant hats will go to the Emilie Center at 20th St. and 10th Ave South; adult hats will go to the residents of the Pre-Release Center off 15th Street. Pre-release residents must walk or bicycle to their jobs so they can really use the hats in the cold weather. At last count there were 160 men and 40 women living there. These locations have been chosen based on need and the fact that it appears no one else knits hats for them. We appreciate the donations of yarn to our efforts! We met our goal of 200 and had a grand total of 222 Hats!! Thursday Study Group Meets every Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in the Media Room. All are welcome! Coffee and Conversation meet at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday mornings in the Van O Hall. All are welcome! Youth Group meets every Wednesday at 6:00 pm in the Van O Hall, through the school year. If you have any question, please call Beckie Frisbee. TGIF Flock Group will meet January 27, 2017.information will be in the upcoming weekly announcements. Faith & Film will be Jan. 22, 2017 at 6 p.m. Our film will be Sully starring Tom Hanks. At the home of Shirley Tonkin (704 Sandpiper Drive) Please join us and bring a snack to share. Wine & Women: To be announced.

6 6 The FUMC Newsletter January 2017 Service Opportunities Coffee Fellowship~Hosts are needed for Coffee Fellowship gatherings. The coffee makers are always ready to plug in. Tea, ice and cold drink mixes are available for hosts who wish to prepare them. Beyond that, a host is asked to provide a simple treat for about people. Help is always available for anyone who doesn't feel they know the ropes. To take a turn, please sign the sheet on the bulletin board in the Van O. Hall. Thank you to Coffee Fellowship Hosts! Liturgist~A liturgist, who participates in the worship service, may read announcements, scriptures and calls to worship, while the minister preaches the sermon, offers prayers and blesses sacraments. To volunteer please call Jeanette Butts a Jan 1. Ruthann Knudson Jan. 8 Lucas Richardson Jan. 15 Millie Olsen Jan. 22 Cheryl Kingery Jan. 29 Lee Mattingly Communion Stewards~To volunteer, Please call Marlene January 1 Patti Ashmore Worship Greeters~To volunteer, please call Cheryl Kingery. You will need to be at your post by 9:15 am. Jan. 1 Cheryl Kingery Jan. 8 John & Linda Lewis Jan. 15 Mary Ballowe & Maryellen Bindel Jan. 22 Lee Mattingly & Luella Welsh Jan. 29 TBA Kitchen Laundry~Sign-up sheets for monthly kitchen laundry duties can be found outside of the kitchens in Van O. Hall on the first floor and the Social Hall on the second floor. January TBA Mission Outreach for January School Supplies for the Local High Schools Dear Chatty Hatters, Thank you once again for the donation of purple hats for the hospital. I retired in October and it has been a pleasure to work with you on this very important project! Thank you, Jana McNamee First UM Church, Thank you so much for your very generous gift of $ to help Family Promise of Great Falls to continue its mission of providing food, shelter and nurturing for homeless children and their families. Our program is successful with the help of individuals like you and we appreciate your support. We simply could not do it without you! Sincerely, Sharon Odden Family Promise of Great Falls FUMC, Thank you so much for the cards, gifts and treats this holiday season. You all are so special to me and I appreciate you ALL so much!!! Hollie & Darian

7 7 The FUMC Newsletter January 2017 On January 18, 2017 there will be a Unit Meeting at the home of Virginia Piatt (1540 Meadowlark Drive #53) at 1:00 p.m. The Nominating Committee has met and will give their report, the report will be voted on and the officers will be installed and we will make our pledges for our Pledge Program. January 29 th after worship service in the Van O Hall will be our ALL CHURCH CONFERENCE and strategy retreat. We will be finishing up our Nominations, doing some visioning and making a strategic plan for the next several years. Your voice is important to our mission, vision and values. We will be having some conversations around what our "Big Ideas" for the future might be. Let us know your dream for our future. First United Methodist and First English Lutheran churches are hosting Family Promise guests the week of January 22-29, 2017 and your help would be appreciated. We are starting our third year of hosting all your support has been wonderful! We need people to provide evening meals and evening hosts (5-8pm people who have gone through orientation), perhaps breakfast supplies (we will see if our guests are into early morning coffee and cereal/ toast), and lunch supplies at the Hub. We also need folks as overnight hosts (8pm to 7:15am), and people to help move in beds on 1/22 and take them out on 1/29. We need folks to do laundry after our guests leave. We have TVs available in all the guest rooms that show DVDs (no TV reception in the basement), and we need (1) two of the DVD screens wall-mounted and (2) donated DVDs appropriate for children. Once the families are in their rooms after dinner they need the DVDs as entertainment, and our help giving them some viewing variety is greatly appreciated! Please call Ruthann Knudson ( , or paleoknute@paleodesigns.com) if you can help with any of these tasks. Thanks in advance! **Family Promise is having a January orientation session for anyone interested in volunteering to serve meals or serve as evening or overnight host for the Great Falls program. The session will be held at Holy Spirit Catholic Church at th St. at 7pm on Tuesday, January 10 th.

8 8 The FUMC Newsletter January 2017 Save the Date and Join the Team! Comfort Food Classic Benefitting: Saturday, Feb. 11, :00-8:00 PM Moose Lodge st, Black Eagle, MT Tickets: $25/single, $5/children (3-12yrs) First United Methodist and First English Lutheran are recruiting a Cook-off team to create our Comfort Food Main Dishes for everyone to taste and have a chance to win the coveted People s Choice Award. We need to make a memorable decorated booth with costumed servers-- whatever suits our fancy! There will also be a Dessert Contest. Individual dessert servings will be sold, with a prize for the creator of the most sold. This casual, family friendly fun event will raise funds for Family Promise of Great Falls. Please call Ruthann Knudson at with ideas for our FUMC/FEELC entry.

9 9 The FUMC Newsletter January 2017 Ja n u a ry Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1. New Years Day!! 9:30 am Worship Fellowship following service 2. Church office closed in observance of New Years 11am Covenant Group-Van O 3:30 pm Horn-Sanc 6pm Girl Scouts SH 7 pm Al Anon -Brown 3. 10am Coffee & Conv. Van O 5:30 pm Yoga-Sanc. 6:30 pm Boy Scouts Pack Meeting SH 4. 7:30 am TOPS -Brown 8am Men's Group 6pm Youth Group-Van O pm TOPS-Van O 5:30 pm Yoga-Sanc 7pm Study Group MR 9am Planning Session-MR :30 am Worship Fellowship following service 12-2-Wadmans-MR 11am Covenant Group-Van O 3:30 pm Horn-Sanc 6pm Girl Scouts SH 7 pm Al Anon -Brown 9am Session Planning Mtg. MR 10am Coffee & Conv. Van O 5:30 pm Yoga-Sanc. 7pm Maintenance-Brown 9am Retired Teachers- Brown 7:30 am TOPS-Brown. 8am Men's Group 6pm Youth Group-VanO 5-7pm TOPS-Van O 5:30 pm Yoga-Sanc 7pm Study Group MR 10am MAVIS-MR 15. 9:30 am Worship Fellowship following service Vets Offering 16. Office Closed Martin Luther King JR Day 11am Covenant Group-Van O 6:00pm Girl Scouts SH 7 pm Al Anon-Brown am Coffee & Conv. Van O 5:30 pm Yoga-Sanc :30 am TOPS -Brown 8am Men's Group 1pm UMW Unit Mtg. at the home of Virginia Piatt (1540 Meadowlark Dive #53) 6pm Youth Group-VanO pm TOPS-Van O 5:30 pm Yoga-Sanc 7pm Study Group-MR :30 am Worship Fellowship following service 11am Covenant Group-Van O 6:00pm Girl Scouts SH 7 pm Al Anon -Brown 10am Coffee & Conv. Van O 5:30 pm Yoga-Sanc. 7:30 am TOPS-Brown 8am Men's Group 5-7pm TOPS-Van O 7pm Study Group-MR 6pm Symphony Practice Sanc 6pm TGIF Flock TBA 6pm Symphony Practice Sanc 6pm Symphony Practice Sanc 6pm Symphony Practice Sanc Family Promise Week January 22-29, :30 am Worship Fellowship following service Church Conference after Service in the Van O Hall 3pm Symphony Concert 11am Covenant Group-Van O 6:00pm Girl Scouts SH 7 pm Al Anon-Brown 10am Coffee & Conv. Van O 5:30 pm Yoga-Sanc. SH~Social Hall Van O~ Van O. Hall Brown~Brown Parlor Down Downstairs MR Media Room Sanc Sanctuary

10 10 The FUMC Newsletter January 2017 The Great Falls Symphonic Choir will be having a concert on January 29, 2017 at 3:00 p.m. in the FUMC Sanctuary. More details will be in the upcoming weekly bulletins. Postmaster send address changes to: The FUMC Newsletter P.O. Box 1444 Great Falls, MT Sunday Worship Services is at 9:30 a.m.