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 O F C O M M E R C E V O L U M E 2 6 I S S U E 7 The Outlook J U L Y 2 0 1 8 Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer July 4th-6th Church Office Closed Tuesdays @10:00 am Children & Youth Summer Fun July 10th @3:00 pm Circle 5 Watermelon Social July 23rd @6:00 pm Stephen Ministry July 24th @7:00 pm Trustees No Choir practice during July Looking ahead: August 11th Great Day of Service Every summer my family would load up in the station wagon and head to Jekyll Island for time at the beach. Those summer days still linger in my mind as the perfect vacation: days on the beach, playing in the sand, riding the waves on those cheap plastic floats. Each morning my mom would slip away before the rest of us got up and walk the beach. We d complain that she went without us, but she d smile and say, If you want to come you ll have to get yourself up. I know she cherished those quiet morning walks with the waves gently rolling at her ankles. These are some of my best summer memories. We started the summer with a wonderful time at Vacation Bible School full of stories, crafts, and activities. Thanks to Gina Hagan who coordinated our VBS and to all of you who donated your time and talent and presence to make certain 70+ children had memorable times. At the end of June we also hosted GROW camp, an experiential, hands-on camp with counsellors from Camp Glisson. Each day when we arrived, we were not certain whether we d find kids hanging from trees or making (pretend) campfires in the parking lot. I m not certain if the campers or the counsellors enjoyed it more. Our youth experienced a great time away of fellowship and spiritual growth at Lake Juneluska, in North Carolina with Leigh Linn our Youth director and Terrific Tuesdays at 10 are on the horizon for July. We do children s ministry well at CFUMC because of your help. As you enjoy vacation this summer with your family, whether it's the beach, the mountains, or the lake, be safe and make memories that will last. This means putting down the cell phone and spending face time with your family playing games or making sand castles. You can never get this time back in their lives, so cherish every moment. And please, remember your church family needs your prayers and your financial support for our ministries even during the summer. We re still here in Commerce continuing the good ministry of our church while you are enjoying this great time away. Have a safe and fun summer, Pastor Kathy Prayer does not fit us for greater work; prayer is the greater work. - Oswald Chambers Please consider joining our Prayer and Care team. Contact the church office or Pastor Kathy for more information.
Youth Ministry News Terrific Tuesdays 10am-12pm July 3- Meet at K Ellen s at 10am for a pool party. Pick up is at 12pm! July 10, 17, 24- Meet in the youth room for activities, including Youth VBS lessons! Matthew 10:42 "And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward." Upcoming Events: July 21 Family Day at Staghorn! Join us for a day of play, relaxation, and fun. Watch email and Facebook for time and events! August 11 August 19 Great day of Service, 7am-Noon Youth Sunday Be a Blessing! Leigh Linn Adult Choir will NOT practice in the month of July. We will resume practicing in August. Church office will be closed: July 4th Holiday July 5th and 6th Office Carpet installation Thank you for your patience as we get the office spruced up!
School Supplies Collection: We will be collecting school supplies during July. Instead of celebrating with a back-to-school-bash, the children s ministry will be packing backpacks and boxes during Great Day of Service on August 11. Below is a list of the most needed supplies but any school supplies will be gladly accepted. Boxes are located in the sanctuary and Family Life Center. Packs of # 2 pencils 24 count crayons Loose leaf wide-ruled Paper 1 3-ring binders 3-prong folders with pockets Sandwich size Zip-lock bags Plastic pencil boxes 1 3-ring binders Spiral Notebooks Clorox wipes Hand sanitizer Hi-Liters Glue sticks June 2018 Financial Update Amount Needed through June: $219,252 Received through 6/24/18 $216,698 Expenditures through 6/24/18 $212,326 Second Sunday Report The Results: June 10th- 11 Bags of Peanut Butter and Jelly and $300 in cash contributions Our Next Challenge: July 8th- Mac & Cheese Also, there is always a need for Breakfast Food and Instant Potatoes. Cash contributions are also accepted and appreciated. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat Matthew 25:35
Upcoming Activities in Children's Ministry: Jesus did some amazing miracles Summer Sunday School Science with Jesus All kids meet in one big Sunday school class during the summer! Join us every Sunday at 10am in the Children s Ministry area a different look at some of Jesus miracles July 1 Jesus Calms the Storm July 8 Jesus Feeds 5,000 July 15 Jesus Walks on Water July 22 Jesus Heals a Blind Man July 29 Jesus Rises from the Dead! Tuesday at 10! Kids from age 3 Fifth Grade meet in the family life center every Tuesday (unless otherwise noted) from 10am till Noon for another summer fun activity! Parents and caregivers are invited to stay and help! July 3 Pool Party! We ll meet at Miss K.Ellen s house details to follow July 10 Kindness is Contagious and Cow Appreciation Day! July 17 Ninjago Lego Movie July 24 Paint and Play We ll meet in the Family Life Center to create care packages for our police And fire department and deliver them too. We ll also put the Kindness rocks we made in VBS around town for people to find then meet at Chick Fil A for lunch! A cool morning at Commerce Cinemas details to follow A fun way to end the summer creative play and art time Children s Church Change! To keep our children safe and to help parents with pick-up on Sunday mornings, when children ages 3 Kindergarten are dismissed to Children s Church we will be going to the Education building which will be locked during worship time. A doorbell has been placed on the double doors to the education building entrance - please ring the bell for access. This move puts all our kids in one safe, secure building during worship and will be a one hallway stop to pick up the kids after the service. Please note that kids in First-Fifth grade remain in worship with their families. I will be contacting folks to help with Children s Church since there are no stairs to climb we pray you will say yes to serving our littles. Upcoming Dates: July 21 Family Day at Staghorn Join us for a day of play, relaxation, and fun. Watch email and Facebook for time and events! August 5 August 11 Promotion Sunday: Back to our regular Sunday school and Backpack Blessings Great Day of Service: Back to school supply drive Watch for emails and Facebook posts for details on all our summer events! Contact Gina at (706) 654--6489 with questions, ideas, comments or support! A BIG THANK YOU for your help with Vacation Bible School! We had a very memorable and successful week with 80 children/youth and 53 adults participating! Thank you so much to everyone who helped, prayed, donated and served!
STEWARDSHIP CORNER Paying It Forward It s July -- or almost July depending on when you are reading this. July is always a special month for me. It is Freedom month. The month for celebrating independence from tyranny and, by the grace of God, the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Independence Day is a great day of celebration, a day to celebrate that gift of freedom. It occurred to me that we, as Christian stewards, celebrate God s grace in our lives on an ongoing basis. As I was searching for ideas for this article in light of the first paragraph above I was not getting very far until I was led to search the internet for the words freedom, grace, stewardship. Lots of stuff out there 1,670,000 results on Google! But, on the first page of results I found an article by Jordan J. Ballard, PhD, entitled Gift, Gratitude, and the Grace of Stewardship. It made me consider the gift we were given in 1776 and the gift of grace we are given even before we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. Both of these gifts were not given, are not given for the present hour but for the future. The Declaration of Independence was not solely written for those in 1776 but for every American until the end of time. The gift of grace is not given for you in the present but for what you do as a result of that gift and the effects of those acts until the end of time. The gift of grace requires a response of gratefulness and service. As Ballard says, This dynamic between gift, gratitude toward the giver, and generosity toward others is formed by the primary reality of divine grace: We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). The initiative is taken by the giver, and when God is the giver, he empowers his people to be stewards of grace and givers to others in turn. God s expectation is that you not sit on the grace and the time and talents and monetary resource you have been given, but give it to others, to go out and be disciples of Jesus Christ, to transform the world one heart at a time. Your servant, Tom Murphy
July Worship Texts: July 1 Mark 5:21-43 July 8 Mark 6:1-6 July 15 Mark 6:14-29 July 22 Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 July 29 Serving this Acolyte: TBA Altar Guild: Sadie Beauchamp, Judy Harbin, Jan Roe Trustee: Mandy Lund Children's Church: Week 1- Gina Hagan Week 2- Gina Hagan Week 3- Gina Hagan Week 4- Gina Hagan Week 5- Gina Hagan Counters: Week 1- Dave Moon, Lee Hagan Week 2- Tom Murphy, Al Fleming Week 3- Bill Davis, Jack Legg Week 4- Att Stephenson, Jimmy Bolton Week 5- Jack Legg, Bill Davis Greeters: Reece Morris, Debbie Manus, Rita Farris Birth- 7/2 Lori Martin 7/3 Kathy Lamon 7/8 Kristen Hill 7/9 Reed Cassidy 7/12 Louellen Besuden 7/13 Ellen Carey 7/16 Brenda Meadows 7/17 Stephanie Barnett 7/19 Ed Adams 7/20 Jessica Outz 7/22 Donald McFadden 7/23 John Malner, Megan Karles 7/25 Parker Moon 7/26 George Turk 7/28 Jimmy Hooper 7/31 Stacy Oxley-Sales Anniver- 7/1 Mr. & Mrs. George Turk 7/7 Mr. & Mrs. David Stephenson 7/10 Mr. & Mrs. Jimmy Bolton Mr. & Mrs. Michael Sales Mr. & Mrs. Matthew Lund 7/11 Mr. & Mrs. John Dethlefs 7/16 Mr. and Mrs. Chris Sales 7/22 Dr. and Mrs. Bob Marshburn 7/25 Mr. & Mrs. Al Fleming
Family Fun Night! Hosted by the CFUMC Honduras Mission Team Sunday, July 15th 6:00-8:00pm CFUMC Lawn Britt Jones Concert Concert Tickets are $5 and children 10 and under are free. In addition to the concert, we will be offering for purchase Kona Ice, M and G s burgerque food truck, cotton candy, face painting, games and more. The Honduras Mission team will be raffling a quilt made by Mary Walters. Tickets are available for purchase before and after worship service and at the family fun night concert. Drawing will be held on July 15th. Tickets are $3 for 1, or 2 for $5.
"A Place to Know, Grow, and Show God's Love" 16 Cherry St. (Church Office) 54 Cherry St. (Church/Preschool) Commerce, GA 30529 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED 706-335-4018 (Office) www.commercefumc.org Email us at: cmcoffice@windstream.net Like us on at facebook.com/commercefumc Editor: Libby Christiansen