November 2018 Monthly Newsletter of Corry First Church In His Steps Corry First UMC Pastor Jonathan Fehl Lead Pastor 650 Worth Street Corry, PA 16407 Follow Us in our Journey to Follow Him To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. I Peter 2:21 PHONE: (814) 665-2445 E-MAIL: Office@corryfirst.org WEBSITE: www.corryfirst.church OFFICE HOURS: Monday Friday 9:00am 3:00pm WORSHIP: 9:00 AM Sunday School 10:00 AM Traditional Worship 11:00 AM Coffee & Fellowship 11:11 AM Modern Worship WEEKLY SCHEDULE: Wednesday: 6:00 PM H20 Life Group 7:00 PM Choir Rehearsal 7:00 PM Prayer Meeting Friday: 7 10 PM Friday Night Flood First Link 1 st Sunday of the Month 8:30 9:30am Breakfast 3 rd Sunday of the Month 12:30 1:30pm Lunch (Schedule is subject to Change) In happy moments, PRAISE GOD. In difficult moments, SEEK GOD. In quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD. In painful moments, TRUST GOD. Every moment, THANK GOD. Rick Warren
Pastor s Page We had our annual church conference in October. For those who were not there, I want to share with you my pastoral report. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21 We are at the front end of our second year together as pastor and church. God has done a lot among us as we have worked together for his kingdom. One of the most exciting is that we had 6 people baptized by profession of faith this summer, and 3 more who reaffirmed their baptism! This is the reason we do what we do: To help people know and experience the life-transforming love, grace, and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. Those 9 people represent some visible signs of what God is doing in many hearts. There are many good signs of health and growth. We continue to grow our heart for outreach in the community. We have installed ramps for those who need handicapped access to their homes. We support the LifeCare ministry that helps women facing unexpected pregnancy. We meet financial needs through Love INC and the Discretionary Fund. Our Missions Conference has mobilized tens of thousands of dollars to support the growth of God s kingdom locally and globally. Our commitment to the next generation continues to bear fruit. This year we had Vacation Bible School again after a hiatus. We had students who do not regularly come to Corry First or any other church, but who came and heard of God s love for them. Several of them received the gift of salvation! We also organized a weeklong summer day camp in conjunction with Wesley Woods. Our youth ministry, H2O, continues to show Him 2 Others. Last school year we had more than 250 students come to Friday Night Flood at some time during the year. On an average Friday night, we have 60-90 students in the church for fun and discipling. The large majority of these do not have a church background in their family. Many of them have committed their lives to Christ in the last year. We also have 15-25 students on Wednesday nights for the mid-week Bible study. They are being discipled to be leaders among their peers as they point people to Jesus. God is doing powerful things in the hearts and lives of these young people. We have restarted the 24 to Double program, as we seek to become a church that mobilizes all our people to minister in the ways God has gifted them. We are working on forming a discipleship track as we work our way through the monthly lessons together. (Pastor s Page continued on page 7)
Page 3 of 10 One of my personal goals for 2018 was to read three books a month, or thirty-six books this year (and in doing so, hopefully spend less of my free time on my phone)! Since the end of the year has, somehow, come quickly and mysteriously out of nowhere, I m spending most of my free time trying to achieve my goal reading! The book I chose to read last week was a historical fiction piece on the life of John Wilkes Booth, the young actor who assassinated President Lincoln (don t ask why I chose it at this point I am just grabbing random books out of the library!). The book was, surprisingly, very interesting, and explained the tragic life story of young John Wilkes, his family, and his journey to becoming one of the most hated men in history. I learned many things I didn t know before (that I would have been totally okay with not knowing, but I digress), including the fact that the plot to assassinate the president started out as a plot to capture him, and that there were 7 other people that were involved with the plot all of whom were eventually arrested and executed, even a woman named Mary Surratt, who simply opened her home for the men to meet, truly believing that she was serving her country. You might be wondering how this has anything to do with anything, and I wouldn t blame you, but Mary s situation in particular reinforced to me the importance of this Bible verse that we have been teaching at Friday Night Flood for the past 5 weeks: The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray. Proverbs 12:26 NLT At Friday Night Flood, we ve been doing a series of messages called Squad Goals, which has been all about how to live in healthy community, and how to have God-honoring friendships. We ve been learning that God didn t create us to do life alone and that He has some advice when it comes to choosing who to do life with. Even Jesus, who spent time with all kinds of people and loved everyone equally, didn t spend equal time with everyone. We ve seen and heard from a lot of teenagers that this is one of their biggest struggles in walking with God finding friends who will walk the right path with them. And it s not only an important lesson for teens, it s important for all ages! Another great verse on this is Proverbs 13:20: Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble. Going back to my book - even though Mary Surratt s only crime was simply association with John Wilkes Booth, the result for her was still trouble. Knowing and understanding that the people I spend my time with has influence on my life is so important if I care about the person I am becoming and the future that God has for me. Let us be a church who carefully watches the example of Jesus and lives and loves and has friendships like He did! ><> Sarah 3
Attendance & Financial Giving for October Average Attendance Monthly Giving 10:00am Worship 124 General Fund $ 19,402.60 11:11am Worship 39 (Budgeted Monthly Expenditures : $26,786) Total Avg. Attendance 163 Sunday School 49 Month of November Birthdays 01 Lyn Wittmer 03 Lynda Williams, Lacey Wingard 04 Denise Nichols, Craig Watrous 05 Gary Hunt, Bob Lindstrom 06 Mary Gutz 07 Rev. Russ Hines 09 Kayla Murphy, Andrew Sproveri 10 Julie Ruth 11 John P. Lindstrom 13 Connie Sitterley 15 Jamie Hammond, Terri Lindstrom 17 Cindy Hall 19 Berdena Rough 20 Margie Crowell, Jennifer Gourley 21 Jennilea Curtis, Helen Joy 22 Grahm Baker, Katherine Fehl 24 Jean Bailey 26 Wendy Gillis, Gavin Graves, Wendy Swank 27 Ken Swank 30 Florence Dahl Month of November Anniversaries 04 Carl & Florence Dahl Lance & Cathy Palmer 11 Ken & Wendy Swank 21 Cole & Tiffany Miscik 27 Reggie & Joanne Baker *If we have missed your birthday or anniversary, please contact the church office and let us know.
Page 5 of 10 God is calling us as a congregation to increase our engagement with his Word. Each month we will use SOAP, a method of hearing from God through writing down what we are reading and hearing. The description is on the bookmark below. There is also a reading plan involving one chapter a day. Ask Pastor Jonathan if you have any questions. Printed bookmarks are available at the church. The reading plan is also available on our church app. 5
Prayer Meeting: Beginning November 7 at 7:00pm and meeting every Wednesday evening in the Good Samaritan Classroom. Prayer will be led by Dr. Larry & Candy Wells and Dale & Pat Rath. See prayer leaders for more information. Pray-ers for the Worship Service! We have started a "prayer covering" in the prayer room during the 10 o'clock service on Sunday. Sign-up sheet is on the bulletin board closest to the front doors of the church. We would love to have 2 people in the prayer room each Sunday during the service, praying for the congregation, our church, our town, the pastor, his family, etc. Prayer is a privilege extended to us by God, and it brings us closer to him as we pray for others! Prayer Chain: When we receive word of a prayer request, we mobilize our church to pray. We distribute the requests through our prayer chain. If you would like to commit to praying for these requests, you can receive them through an email or a phone call. To sign up for the team, contact Sally Amy at sally.amy3@gmail.com or (814) 462-7548. Online Giving: Your giving to God through Corry First makes an eternal difference in this community and in people s lives! We have unveiled a new, easy-to-use online giving tool. You can find it at www.corryfirst.church/give, or by texting CORRYFIRST to 77977 from your smartphone. Check out this new way to engage in a faithful response to God s work. Corry First App: We want to help you stay in touch with the things that are happening here at Corry First, so we have created a smartphone app! You can download it to get all the latest news of the church, find resources like our SOAP daily Bible readings, send us your prayer requests, and register for events. Text CORRYFIRST APP to 77977, or search for CorryFirst on the App Store or Google Play Store to download it today. Organist Position: Our church is seeking a paid, organist for the 10:00 worship service. The organist would generally serve alternating months. If you would like more information, a job description and application are available in the church office. Snow Removal: We are looking for volunteers to be on a rotation to help with clearing snow from the church sidewalks through the winter. If you would be willing to help on this team, please sign up on the clipboard in the lobby, or contact the church office. Thank you. Van Drivers: With the purchase of the new van, we are looking to expand the pool of drivers. If you are interested in driving the van at times for church events, let the church office know (through the Connect card, the mobile app, or calling the office). We will hold a training for approved drivers. Martha Circle Christmas Party: The Martha Circle would like to invite all ladies from the church to join them on Tuesday, December 4 at 11:00am Gigi s Restaurant for lunch. Please contact Janet Munn at 814-664-7222 with your reservation no later than November 25. 38 th Annual Community Christmas Festival: The Corry Ministerial Association will present The Miracle In a Manger Community Christmas Festival on December 2 at 3:00pm at Corry First UMC. Community Christmas Music Festival Rehearsals: All are welcome to come and sing. All rehearsals are held here at Corry First. See the schedule provided: Adult Rehearsals: November 11, & 18 from 2-4 pm; Young Singers Rehearsals: Same dates as above, meeting from 2-3 pm; Dress Rehearsal: November 27 from 7-8:30 pm Performance Date: December 2 beginning at 3:00 pm **Anyone interested in singing with our church choir (one song), just for the Community Christmas festival, please contact Jill Johnson, ASAP. 814-462-6595
Page 7 of 10 Pastor s Page continued. One growth out of 24 to Double is First Link, a biweekly meal with the pastor designed to help people connect with Jesus, with each other, with the church, and with God s plan for their lives. We are in the process of inviting all our regular attenders through this, as well is it being open to guests. We have also rolled out a Corry First app for Android and Apple. It includes the weekly message notes for the worship services, the latest events going on at the church, ways to give electronically, and other resources. Our offerings for the general fund have been very strong this year, with us currently being well ahead of our pace from last year. Our attendance in worship services was strong through the first half of the year and the summer, but it has dipped in the fall. One of my major prayers is asking God to raise more workers for the harvest. Matthew 9:38 is my daily prayer, that the Lord of the harvest will send workers into his harvest. We need more leaders to step out to serve and lead in different areas in the church and in the community. We have those who faithfully serve in many ways, but there is more to be done. If we are to grow our impact, the key is new people stepping in to serve in new ways. God wants our ministries here to reach the harvest in Corry. There have been some challenges this year as well. We are now in my second year here, and I have found in previous appointments that this can be the most difficult year. We are past the honeymoon phase, and we are beginning to dig down in discovering the direction God is leading us together. There are new things being started and other things being changed. That always makes for challenges. I believe that the best way forward that God has for us can only happen when all the church leaders (laity, staff, and clergy) are communicating together. No one person or one group has all the right answers. But as we work together, God communicates through our unity. I believe the second year is also a year when we are vulnerable to the attack of the enemy. I have frequently said that God has big things planned for this community. I and others have heard in prayer that God will be moving in powerful and unique ways in Corry. The enemy does not want to see that happen. So if he can destroy things before they start, he will. He wants to turn God s people against one another. One of the enemy s favorite strategies is to sow conflict and dissension in the church. He tries to get us to fight against one another, instead of joining forces to fight against his work in the world. He tries to employ miscommunication, misunderstanding, and rumors. He wants to see the ministry of Corry First minimized and sidelined rather than moving into the next phase that God has for it. But the enemy will not win. Our love for Jesus is too great to allow us to be pulled apart. Our love for one another is too strong to let division have the final say. God s love and power will move us forward. The words at the top of this report, written by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 3:20-21, are a powerful reminder of what we re about at Corry First UMC. First of all, God is able to do more than we can imagine. We are praying towards and working towards seeing many people in Corry receive his grace and forgiveness. That forgiveness in itself is a gift beyond what we can imagine or comprehend. We also imagine full worship services in our sanctuary and our Family Life Center. We imagine the children and the youth of our community experiencing 7
Jesus and responding to his love. We imagine meeting the needs of those in poverty around us and ministering alongside them in the gospel. We imagine these big dreams for our part of the Church of Jesus Christ. And yet, this scripture says that God can do immeasurably more than that! What does that look like for God to be at work so powerfully that it blows our minds? How can our whole community be transformed by an outpouring of his Spirit? God is omnipotent. And yet, the next phrase says that his power is at work within us. Whoa. The power of the God who created the universe is working within us. In our relationships, in our church body, in our being. God is using his power to bring what he wants through us. He is using Corry First. He is using you, and he is using me. God is using us for his glory! None of the things we do are for the things we see. It s not so that people in the community will look to Corry First UMC. It s not so that our numbers look good for the United Methodist Church. It s not for the things we can see. But it s for God s glory. Thank goodness we don t have to do what we do just to be judged by other people. What we do will be judged by God, because he is the one who will receive the glory. The next phrase includes something surprising. It s not surprising that Paul says that the glory of God is found in Christ Jesus. But right before that, he says, in the church. And he puts the glory of God revealed in the church as parallel with the glory of God revealed in Christ Jesus. That s unexpected! Jesus Christ s Church has been washed, cleansed, and made new. We are his bride, presented before him without spot or blemish. And we display God s glory. Corry First displays God s glory. His power is at work as we come together, whether in our sanctuaries or in our community, in our classrooms or in our homes. God is at work through this church. And there s no place I d rather be than right here, experiencing him together! In Christ, Pastor Jonathan * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Holiday Home Tour (Presented by the Corry Area Arts Council Auxiliary) Saturday, December 1 from 10am 2pm Tickets available at Bloomers, Something Special and The Whistlestop Featured Homes: Jill & Bruce Burr, Kim & Chad Caldwell, Jennifer & Steve Drake, Cathy & Tim Eastman, Shannon & Bill West, Holly & Jim Vollant All proceeds benefit the Salvation Army s Love in a Bag program and the Auxiliary Council
November 2018 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 10:30 AM-IMPACT at CAHS 2 3 OFFICE CLOSED 9:00 AM-H20 Turkey Bowl 7:00 PM-Friday Night Flood (Daylight Savings) 4 8:30 AM-First Link Breakfast 9:00 AM-Sunday School 9:00 AM-Confirmation Class 10:00 AM-Traditional Worship 11:11 AM-Modern Worship 1:00 PM-LIT Meeting 2:00 PM-Community Fest Rehearsal 2:00 PM-FLC in Use 5 7:00 PM-Mary Circle 7:00 PM-Ladies' Choice 6 7 10:00 AM-Martha Circle 1:00 PM-FLC Lobby in Use 6:30 PM-Boy Scouts 1:15 PM-Deborah Circle 6:00 PM-Life Group 7:00 PM-Choir Rehearsal 7:00 PM-Prayer Meeting 8 10:30 AM-IMPACT at CAHS 11:30 AM-RC Blood Drive 6:30 PM-SPRC Meeting 9 10 1:00 PM-Worship Meeting 7:00 PM-Friday Night Flood 11 9:00 AM-Sunday School 9:00 AM-Confirmation Class 10:00 AM-Traditional Worship 11:11 AM-Modern Worship 2:00 PM-Community Fest Rehearsal 18 9:00 AM-Sunday School 9:00 AM-Confirmation Class 10:00 AM-Traditional Worship 11:11 AM-Modern Worship 12:30 PM-First Link Lunch 2:00 PM-Community Fest Rehearsal 12 13 3:30 PM-Prayer Time 6:00 PM-Finance Meeting 7:00 PM-UMW Meeting 7:00 PM-Ladies' Choice 19 7:00 PM-Ladies' Choice 6:30 PM-Boy Scouts 7:00 PM-Administrative Council 20 6:00 PM-Prayer Time 6:30 PM-24toDouble 6:30 PM-Boy Scouts 7:00 PM-Trustees Meeting 14 6:00 PM-Life Group 7:00 PM-Choir Rehearsal 7:00 PM-Prayer Meeting 21 6:00 PM-Life Group 7:00 PM-Choir Rehearsal 7:00 PM-Prayer Meeting 15 10:30 AM-IMPACT at CAHS Sarah - vacation 16 17 7:00 PM-Friday Night Flood 10:00 AM-Stampin' Up 22 23 24 OFFICE CLOSED - Holiday 25 8:15 AM-Missions Meeting 9:00 AM-Sunday School 9:00 AM-Confirmation Class 10:00 AM-Traditional Worship 11:11 AM-Modern Worship 26 27 6:30 PM-Boy Scouts 7:00 PM-Christmas Fest Dress Rehearsal 28 6:00 PM-Life Group 6:30 PM-Carpenters for Christ 7:00 PM-Choir Rehearsal 7:00 PM-Prayer Meeting 29 10:30 AM-IMPACT at CAHS 6:30 PM-Safety Team Meeting 30 7:00 PM-Friday Night Flood *December 2 at 3:00pm The Corry Area Ministerial Association will present the 38 th Annual Community Christmas Festival