First United Methodist Church October 1, 2013 Volume 69, Issue 18 The Methodist Messenger A Taste of What s Inside 2, 6 Church facts 2 Methodist Women News 2 Methodist Men announcement 3 Girl Scout News 3 Youth News 3 Kids Corner 4 Music Notes 4 Mustard Seed Sunday Thanks 4 Fall-tastic 5 Sunday School Inspiration 6 Special Volunteer Recognition 6 Bishop Huie visit to district 6 Puppets for Jesus Mark Your Calendar 2 Methodist Men Oct. 3 2 Methodist Women Oct. 3 3 Girl Scout Bake and Yard Sale Oct. 5 3 Youth Rally Oct. 13 4 World Communion Sunday Oct. 6 4 Fall Follies Oct. 27 4 Fall-tastic Oct. 31 6 Bishop visit Oct. 6 Friends... as I write this brief word of encouragement to you all I am sitting at a hotel not far from where we spent nine years in Houston. I m in town in order to be part of an Annual Conference group created to discuss acquiring or building a warehouse for use by the Texas Annual Conference Committee on Relief or TAC- COR which is our own arm of the United Methodist Committee on Relief that functions locally as well as worldwide. Volunteers with UMCOR are known to be among the first to respond to a disaster and generally one of the last two groups to stay until most of the work has been done. This warehouse, if the vision is completed as planned, will not only house tools, trucks, material, etc., but will also stand as a mission training facility and a location to base mission teams from throughout the United States when they come to assist in Texas. I ve always been impressed with our Board of Global Ministry and their work. I also am thankful for the ways in which so many in our Conference choose to spend their time in serving the Lord through hands on mission. It has been at least three years since I ve been on such a work trip. There is much to be done. If I choose to go somewhere, or perhaps to volunteer in our local area, are there some among you who would go with me? Can t say for sure what I m thinking. Could be Gulf Coast, could be fire recovery, could even be volunteers with flood recovery in Colorado. Looking at the map Colorado isn t THAT far away. Any thoughts? Let me know if so. Regards and God bless... see you Sunday, if not before... Richard Mission Statement: First United Methodist Church of Gilmer strives to minister to all in need of Christ through nurturing, education, evangelism, missions and recreation. Contact Us 105 N. Montgomery St Gilmer, TX 75644 903-843-2610 www.gilmer-fumc.com Pastor, Richard Laster pastorlaster@etex.net Secretary, Carol Craddock fumcsect@etex.net Financial Secretary, Lamon Geddie fumcacct@etex.net
P age 2 WE SHOW OUR LOVE By Our Prayers... Laura Allen, Dolly Barnhart, the Bates family, M.L. Boyd, Phoebe Carmody, Don Clark, Beemer Crombie, Allison De- Woody, family of Cheyenne Green, Heath Hull, Connie Key, Charles Morgan, Sharon Nader, Glena Reel, Ora Lee Small, Micheal Smith, Alton and Sandy Steelman, Donna Thomas, Nell Tyl Remember ongoing prayers for loved ones with serious illnesses, our shut-ins, family and friends in the military service and the leaders and staff of our church and our country. Remember to check our Web Site for up-to-the-minute prayer requests. Our Presence Date Sunday School Worship Visitors 9-8 101 166 25 9-15 97 172 22 Average Year to Date Average Last Year Prayer Ministry Don t worry about anything; instead pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don t forget to thank Him for His answers. -- Philippians 4:6 Submit requests to Church s web page: www.gilmer-fumc.com Or Call: Church Office 903-843-2610 Jane Wilson 903-725-6848 Like us on Fac ebook First United M ethodist Church of Gilmer 87 168 23 86 174 23 Methodist Men will meet on Thursday, October 3rd at 6:30 p.m. in the CLC. All men of the church are welcome. Weekly Sessions Each Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. in Room 208. You may join at anytime. Each session is self-contained and you may continue until you have had all of the classes offered. Child Care available, please call ahead. Please contact Steffani Chapman At 713-304-1870 or chapsa@earthlink.net Methodist Women Our newly organized Methodist Women group held their first meeting on September 5, 2013. A wonderful time was had by all ladies in attendance. We will meet again on Thursday, October 3rd at 6:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. We will have a pottery demonstration given by Bill Taylor. Dinner will be provided. We will also have a group business meeting, a time to give details of upcoming events. Ideas for future events will also be appreciated. This group is for all women. We hope you will find a place of fun and fellowship among us. Diane Chevalier Our Deepest Sympathy to Jana Pritchett on the loss of her Grandfather, Elmo Hunt the family of Cheyenne Green
Page 3 The Methodist Messenger Girl Scout Troop 3614 Yard Sale 1 and Bake Sale The annual Girl Scout Yard Sale will be held Saturday, October 5, 2013, from 8:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m. in the FUMC parking lot at the corner of Montgomery and Tyler. There will also be a bake sale from 9 a.m. till Noon. Donations for the yard sale are being accepted. You can contact Paula Tefteller at 903-841-1577 for pick-up. Page 3 Youth News by Matt Potter Hello everyone! The youth have been pretty busy so far this fall, and I am glad that I can actually call it fall now. October is fast approaching and we have a few big things that are coming up during the month. First, on October 6th following our worship service we will have a Youth Council Meeting in the Common Ground Coffee House. Secondly, on October 13th the youth will be attending our first SYNC Youth Rally of the fall which is being held at St. Luke s United Methodist Church in Kilgore from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. We will need to meet at the church around 3:15 to allow plenty of time to arrive at 4:00. We will return around 6:30 that evening. Lastly, the Yamboree will be upon us in no time. We will not be having MYF on October 16th, the Wednesday of the Yamboree. We will keep up with tradition and have our annual parking cars fundraiser for the youth which will be on Friday the 18th and Saturday the 19th from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. We need many volunteers to please help out with this great fundraiser. I will also have breakfast for everyone each morning. Please come out and help support the youth of our church. Matt Kids Corner by Chandra Sorrells Wonderful Wednesday is off to a great start! The Joy Singers are working hard on learning their music, and were such a blessing on Mustard Seed Sunday. We are also learning about temptation in our bible study. Here we see Seth Ball as he is playing a game with marshmallows. The children were tempted to eat their marshmallows before they finished the challenge. Chandra
Th e M ethodi st Messe nger P age 4 Music Notes by Lora Robison Sunday, October 6, we will join other Christians around the world in celebrating World Communion Sunday. The Call to Worship will be given by the Youth Choir who will sing a beautiful anthem by Jody Lindh based upon a Chinese folk melody. Buzzy and Sue Green will be sharing their mission experiences to Uganda and will be giving the Children s Sermon. Following the service a full slide show of all of their experiences will be shown in the Fellowship Hall for those who would like to view them. The Chancel Choir will be singing a beautiful anthem Bring Us Together, Lord by McCabe. Flags from across the world will be displayed on our altar table to remind us of God s amazing love for all of the people of the world. Our service for October 13, is based upon Jeremiah 29: 1, 4-7 with Richard s sermon Bloom Where You re Planted. Our JOY SINGERS will be singing a beautiful hymn of service Jesu, Jesu featuring soloists from our Youth Choir who are our Wednesday afternoon Joy Singers helpers: Brianna Esquivel, Blake Morris, and Cassie Castillo. The Chancel Choir will be singing Go Forth Into the World In Peace by Sjolund. It is FALL FOLLIES TIME AGAIN! Fall Follies presented by Music Ministries of First United Methodist Church will be held on Sunday, October 27, at 6:00 p.m. in the Christian Life Center. DONATIONS will be taken for a delicious buffet meal of brisket, baked potatoes, beans, salad, and dessert. Proceeds from the Fall Follies this year will hopefully be generous enough to pay for our professional string ensemble and oboist from the Longview Symphony who will join our own Brenda Brannon playing flute as they accompany our choir for the Christmas service on December 22! Our Fall Follies Show will be directed and produced this year by Buzzy Green, so we know that it will be a GREAT SHOW! To be assured that we have enough food for everyone we will be asking that you make DINNER RESERVATIONS. Beginning Sunday, October 6, we will ask that you fill out a reservation form to return to the offering plate on Sundays, or that you simply fill out a form and return to the church office by Sunday, October 20! Looking forward to our Sunday morning service on October 20, we will be welcoming back brother and sister DARREN AND MELANIE RICHARDSON as guest musicians. Melanie will be singing a gospel solo with the Chancel Choir and Darren will play keyboard joining Bill Marshall on the piano. Just mark your calendars now for a great time in this service!!! NO sleeping in after the Yamboree or you will miss the best time of all the time we set aside for the Lord in worship at FUMC! In Christ s love, Lora Mustard Seed Thank You! Thank you so much to all of the Sunday School Classes for helping with Mustard Seed Sunday! All of the food that you provided was wonderful. We couldn't have had such a successful lunch without your help and support. We have had a lot of positive feedback from members that enjoyed your food, and the opportunity to walk around the church and visit each classroom. Hopefully we will be able to grow our Sunday School program thanks to your efforts. Thank you to Dick Chapman for your extra help with the sound system and getting it up and running in a pinch so that we would have sound in the church during the Sunday Service and in the CLC for lunch. Thank you also for your slide show so that we could show off all the ways that our church is growing! Thank you Steffani Chapman for all of the little things you did behind the scenes that no one will ever know about, including coming up with the idea for Mustard Seed Sunday. Finally, thank to everyone that helped clean up, especially Carla and Matt Potter, Lamon Geddie and Todd Robison who stayed until the very end! Dolly Robison Fall-tastic is coming to Gilmer... on Halloween night... 5:30 p.m. 8:00 p.m. Fall-tastic is a new idea for Halloween. This is a combination of two traditional and seasonal events in town. The first is the Trunk or Treat which we have hosted here at First UMC; the second is the Treats on the Square which for years has been a favorite. This year the Gilmer Area Ministerial Fellowship has accepted the challenge of the event because there will be no Treats on the Square. The procedure is simple. Various groups in the community will provide decorated booths and items to give away to those who choose to come to Fall-tastic. As for the church we will be taking our successful Trunk or Treat format and moving it to Fall-tastic. This means a couple of things: first remember to bring candy in large quantities to the church (tub is located by the church office door), secondly decorate your automobile and bring it to Fall-tastic along with candy and other such goodies to be given out. It is also our intent to transfer our puppet team and to in essence use our spot at Fall-tastic as a way to welcome friends, just like we would in the church parking lot. Fall-tastic is on Thursday, October 31st. It will run from 5:30 to 8:00 at the Yamboree Grounds. Even though there is no admission fee for participants all who attend are encouraged to bring canned goods which will be donated to Upshur County Shares food bank. Thanks for your time and interest.
P age 5 P age 5 TOP SIX REASONS FROM THE BIBLE FOR JOINING A SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS #1 Sunday School is a place to study the Bible, have a better understanding of God s Word, and apply His truth to your life by actively participating in a small group discussion. 2 Timothy 3:15-17 #2 Sunday School is the place where you start to feel like a part of the family of God. Acts 2:42-47 #3 Sunday School is a place where you can see that God answers prayer. Other people pray for you and you pray for others. Acts 12:12 #4 Sunday School provides an excellent support group in times of personal crisis and need. Romans 12:12-13 #5 Sunday School is where you have a great opportunity to serve God by serving others. Ephesians 4:11-12 #6 Sunday School is where you can learn to be the Christian that God wants you to be. 2 Corinthians 3:18 If you haven t joined a Sunday School Class, now is the time to see what our church has to offer and we want to help you find the perfect class. At First United Methodist Church we invite everyone to grow, share and serve. Our goal is for you to connect with God on your journey and to meet new friends along the way! So join in and connect! It s through our Sunday School that we have the opportunity to reach out to others, teach biblical knowledge and minister to those that are in need. We have classes that meet over the entire church campus and cover every life stage. Regardless of your age there is a group that gathers to fellowship and study God s Word together on Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m. You ll be welcomed into our classes and encouraged through practical Bible study. Check out as many groups as you like and join the one that fits you the best. If you have any questions about our classes or need a suggestion on how to get plugged in, feel free to call our Church Office at (903) 843-2610 or pick up a Sunday School Brochure from our new Welcome Center. The brochure gives a brief description of all of the classes including the average age for that group and lists the teacher(s) for each class. Dolly Robison
Flowers for October 6 October 13 October 20 October 27 Kathy Daniels Kenneth and Suzanne Mayfield The Russell Wilson family Lay Reader for October Leandra Taylor The Sanctuary Flowers for September 15 were given by the Upshur County Literacy Program in loving memory of Sue Williams and with much gratitude for providing a home for their program. September 22 were given by the Clothes Closet in honor of Joy Beth Moore and Suzanne Mayfield. Deadline for Newsletter Articles October 10, Noon P age 6 Special Volunteer Recognition A big thank you to Lamon Geddie for cooking all the meals for Table Talk. Busy, busy, busy! Fall is a time when we fondly remember the carefree days of summer, and as God brushes the countryside in colors of gold, red, orange and yellow, we are reminded of the joy of the harvest. Celebrate Vibrant Congregations with Bishop Janice Riggle Huie, at 5 p.m., Sunday, October 6, at Greggton UMC Puppets for We had a great turnout for our first scheduled meeting of the season. Plans for the next Jesus few months were discussed and exciting performances by Babs Crombie with lots of new and unique styles will be performed for the church and community. Rehearsals will be starting for our annual Christmas puppet musical presentation which is Sunday, December 1st, and the children will be able to visit with 'Santa' afterwards. Any youth that was unable to attend the puppet team Open House, and is interested in seeing what the puppet ministry is all about, is more than welcome to join us. We meet every Sunday at 2:00 in the Christian Life Center. Team membership is now open to any youth in the 6th grade and up. No experience is necessary, and we would love to have you join us on any Sunday! "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't know see the whole staircase" ~ Martin L. King Jr. Blessings, Babs Th e M ethodi st Messe nger L ike u s o n Faceboo k - Fir st Unit e d Methodi st Church o f Gi lm er