First United Methodist Church Rutherfordton, North Carolina First Service Sunday School Second Service 8:45 am 9:45 am 11:00 am Our Mission: Sharing Christ s Light on Main Street and Beyond March 19, 2017 The Third Sunday in Lent Worship of the Lord In our worship we use both the red United Methodist Hymnal (UMH) and the black The Faith We Sing (TFWS). WE GATHER FROM THE WORLD AND PRAISE GOD Tolling of the Church Bell Welcome and Announcements David Griffith (Worshippers, please complete your contact Information and name tags in the red Hospitality Folders.) Prelude A Pavane for a Dead Princess M Ravel Eli Hornback Bringing of the Light Acolyte *Call to Worship Amanda Thompson Leader: For everything there is a season. People: And a time for every matter under heaven: Leader: A time to break down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh. People: A time to be silent and a time to speak. A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what has been planted. Leader: God has made everything suitable for its time. People: God has put a sense of past and future in our minds. Leader: God has done this, so that all should stand in awe before Him. People: Whatever God does endures forever. *Hymn No. 651 (UMH) VENI CREATOR Come, Holy Ghost, Our Souls Inspire *Affirmation of Faith No. 881 WE LISTEN FOR GOD S WORD *Passing the Peace of Christ Leader: The peace of the Lord be with you. People: And also with you. Moments with Children Nick Carver-Robbins Laurie Griffith Amanda Griffith Anthem Down in the River to Pray arr. M. Noia Amanda Thompson & Lesley Wells with Karen Johnson
*The Gospel Lesson Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 Alex Carver-Robbins Leader: The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the Word of the Lord abides forever. People: Thanks be to God. Sermon *Hymn No. 132 (UMH) WE RESPOND TO GOD S WORD All My Hope is Firmly Grounded Taylor Wright MICHAEL Skit Why is Life So Empty? Youth Prayers of the People and The Lord s Prayer, No. 895 (UMH) Mackenzie Malone & Jacob Whiteside Offering of Ourselves and Our Gifts *Response in Praise, No. 94 (UMH) Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; praise God, all creatures here below: Alleluia! Alleluia! Praise God, the source of all our gifts! Praise Jesus Christ, whose power uplifts! Praise the Spirit, Holy Spirit! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! *Prayer of Thanksgiving WE ARE SENT FORTH INTO THE WORLD Alex Carver-Robbins *Hymn No. 672 (UMH) GOD BE WITH YOU God Be with You till We Meet Again *Dismissal with Blessing *We Follow the Light into the World *Chimes of the Trinity Dr. Thompson Acolyte *Postlude Simple Gifts Shaker Hymn Eli Hornback *Congregation please stand, as you are able Enter to Worship, Depart to Serve TODAY S ASSISTANTS IN MINISTRY Bread Maker: Nancy Smith Sound System: 8:45 - Jay Ostrander 11:00 - Ed Bosgra Door Steppers: Jimmy & Ginger Dancy Music Leader: Laurie Griffith Greeters: Youth Ushers: 8:40 - Rory Kiser, Head Usher; Matthew Malone, Captain; Alex Carver-Robbins, Nick Carver-Robbins, Lesley Wells, Jacob Whiteside 10:55 - David Best, Head Usher; Matthew Malone, Captain; Alex Carver-Robbins, Nick Carver-Robbins, Lesley Wells, Jacob Whiteside
When You Pray, Remember the Following Church Members, Homebound Members and Our Service Personnel: Will Bunch, Marines Wyatt Church 1 Lydia Clontz 4 Lucy Daniel 3 Diane Fields 2 S. G. Gabriel 1 Bill & Nancy Hartley 2 Linda Hoyle 1 Diane McMillan 1 Dot Overcash 2 Craig Ruhl 3 Mabel Satrape 4 Liz Turner 1 Merrill Wood 2 Remember the Following Friends & Family of Church Members: Family of Rudy Bosgra, brother of Ed Bosgra 4 Lucy Claroni, sister-in-law of Sally Claroni 3 Dee Griffith, mother of Scott Griffith 1 Family of James William Helms 1 Judy Hoyle 1 Buck Juzyk, son-in-law of Newt & Susan Hamlin 4 Tammy Kincaid, sister-n-law of David & Debbie Best 2 Emily Koone 4 Family of Gay Morgan 3 Claire Sharpe, sister-in-law of Vanessa Harbison 1 Lois Sims 4 Mark Upton, brother of Sherry Henderson 2 Jonathan Willard, son of Nancy & Bill Hartley 2 Marie Wood, daughter-in-law of Merrill Wood 2 Prayer requests will run for 4-weeks in our bulletin. This will help to keep requests current. Requests may be updated/renewed at any time. We do not want to drop anyone from the list who needs prayer. Please keep us posted. FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 264 North Main Street Rutherfordton, NC 28139 Phone (828) 287-3704 Sydnor s Cell (828) 337-6868 First Church Website: www.fumcrutherfordton.weebly.com/ Dr. Sydnor Thompson, III Pastor sydnorthompson@gmail.com Like us on Face Book First United Methodist Church, Rutherfordton, NC OUR STAFF Beau Lunceford Director of Children s & Youth Ministry blunceford@fumcrutherfordton.org Patricia Harrelson Director of Music patriciaharrelson2015@yahoo.com Alice Wright Friendship Club Director alicehubwright@gmail.com Pam Craft Administrative Assistant firstchurchadmin@bellsouth.net Glenda Fuhrmann Organist glendafuhrmann@yahoo.com Kathy Watson TLC Preschool Director mimiwatson3538@gmail.com Karen Ruhl Receptionist karenruhl12@gmail.com OUR MISSIONARIES Newt & Susan Hamlin, Missionaries to Papua New Guinea
For The Record Week of 03-12-2017 STEWARDSHIP OF PRESENCE... 143 SUNDAY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE... 80 Weekly Budget Needs... $ 8,697.68 Pledged Offerings... $ 3,936.00 Non-Pledged Offerings... $ 246.00 Loose Plate Offerings... $ 93.00 Total Tithes & Offerings... $ 4,275.00 CHRISTIAN SYMPATHY IS EXTENDED TO Susan Hamlin and her family in the death of her mother. May the peace of Christ be with you. COVERED DISH LUNCH!! THE FRIENDSHIP CLUB BOARD AND STAFF invites you to a covered dish lunch in honor of our 23 year old Friendship Club next Sunday, March 26th. Come and learn more about this outreach mission of our church that has touched so many lives. Fried chicken and drinks will be provided by our wonderful Fellowship Committee. Hope to see you, your family and your(deviled eggs) there! THE CHURCH OFFICE will be closed on Friday, March 24th. THE FIRST WORD NEWSLETTER articles for the April issue are due to Pam at pam@fumcrutherfordton.org no later than Noon on Tuesday, March 21st. COMMUNION STEWARDS NEEDED! Did you know that there are members of our church who take communion to our shut-ins on the first Sunday of each month after worship? Donna Harrison leads this vital ministry connecting our shut-ins to the sacramental life of our congregation. Additional volunteers willing to deliver communion on first Sundays are needed. If you are interested in helping with this important ministry, please contact Donna or call the church office. ATTENTION FIRST CHURCH: Several dishes and items have been left in the kitchen and need to be picked up. They are located on the mail table in the church office for your convenience. Thank you, Kitchen Committee LENTEN STUDY - "FALLING UPWARD" BY RICHARD ROHR: Join Pastor Sydnor during the Wednesdays of the Lenten Season for a study of Richard Rohr's book, "Falling Upward." We will meet for one hour to discuss the book on the Wednesdays of Lent at 6 pm, at the Perry-Moore House, through the Wednesday of Holy Week, April 12. Copies of the book are available for you to pick up in the church office. A donation of $13.50 would be appreciated to cover the cost of your book.
COMMUNITY LENTEN WORSHIP Wednesday, March 22nd - 12:00 noon at Host Church - St. Gabriel Episcopal Church Invited Speaker - Mr. Bobby Lynch Join with your friends in our Rutherfordton community for this special time of worship. OPERATION INASMUCH Inasmuch as you serve the least of these, you serve me. Throughout the Bible, God shows His compassion for the sick, poor, hungry, prisoners, in short, anyone in need. And He commands us to follow His example. Operation Inasmuch provides each and every one of us an opportunity to serve our neighbors. How can you help? First - by letting us know of projects that will help the needy in our church family, as well as in our community. These include minor home repairs, painting, yard work, or anything else that someone needs a hand with. If you know of these needs, please email Bob Bourne at rbbourne@aol.com or Laurie Furse at laurie.furse@hotmail.com. You can also text or call Laurie at 864-706-3409. Second - by signing up to work on an Operation Inasmuch team. Look for the sign-up sheet in your bulletin, fill it out, and place in the offering plate or church office. Most projects will be done on Saturday, April 29, but some will be done on alternate days. If you are not able to serve on physical work teams we still need you! There will be teams for prison visitation, card writing, making casseroles for shut-ins, etc. In other words, everyone can help! REMEMBER TO WEAR A NAME TAG! In the spirit of hospitality toward one another, we are encouraging our members and guests to wear name tags. The name tags are included in our hospitality pads located at the end of each pew. If you are a guest, we are especially glad you're here! - Evangelism & Membership Care Committee THE EXTRA DOLLAR is an invitation to members of First Church who give to the church monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually or by mail, to place an extra dollar in the offering plate each Sunday. This is a way to participate in worship through giving, and serve as an example to our children and youth and visitors of our love of Christ and our church.
O U R CH U R C H I N A C T I O N (Daily Bible Readings) Y O U T H L E D SU N D A Y, MA R C H 19 (Numbers 33-34, Psalm 78, John 20) 8:00 am - Prayer Walk, PMH 8:45 am - Worship Service, S 9:45 am - Sunday School 11:00 am - Worship Service, S 5-6:15 pm - Disciple Fast Track, FC M O N D A Y, MA R C H 20 (Numbers 35-36, Psalm 79, John 21) 9:30 am - TLC Chapel, S 10 am - 8 pm - Welcome Table, FC & K 5-6:30 pm - Welcome Table Served, FC 6:30 pm - Habitat Board, PMH 6-8:30 pm - NETworX, N, 3 rd Floor, BA, YC 6:30 pm - Al Anon, L (Newcomers) 7:00 pm - Al Anon, DMC T U E S D A Y, M A R C H 21 (Deuteronomy 1-2, Psalm 80, Acts 1) Noon - Newsletter Articles Due 1:00 pm - Staff Meeting, BA 6:30 pm - Alzheimer s Support, PMH W E D N E S D A Y, MA R C H 22 (Deuteronomy 3-4, Psalm 81, Acts 2) 6:30-7:15 am - HeBrews, Boy Scout Hut 7:00 am - Men s Breakfast, FC & K Noon - Community Lenten Service, St. Gabriel Episcopal Church 6:00 pm - Lenten Study, FR 6:00 pm - Handbells 7:00 pm - Chancel Choir, NM T H U R S D A Y, M A R C H 23 (Deuteronomy 5-6, Psalm 82, Acts 3-4) 6:45-7:30 am - Prayer Group, S 9:00 am - CBS Prayer Time, FR F R I D A Y, MA R C H 24 (Deuteronomy 7-8, Psalm 83, Acts 5-6) Church Office Closed S A T U R D A Y, M A R C H 25 (Deuteronomy 9-10, Psalm 84, Acts 7) 12:00 pm - AA Meeting, PMH F R I E N D S H I P C L U B SUNDAY, MARCH 26 (Deuteronomy 11-12, Psalm 85, Acts 8) 8:00 am - Prayer Walk, PMH 8:45 am - Worship Service, S 9:45 am - Sunday School 11:00 am - Worship Service, S 12:15 pm - Covered Dish Luncheon, FC 12:15 pm - Board of Trustees, FR 5-7 pm - Youth, YC 6:00 pm - Finance Com., DMC 7:00 pm - Church Council, FC LEGEND: BA - Balcony, DM - Dillard Morrow Class, FC - Fellowship Center, FR - Front Room, L - Library, N - Nursery, NC - Nifong Chapel, NM - Nifong Music Room, PMH - Perry- Moore House, S - Sanctuary, YC - Youth Center