First United Methodist Church Volume 74, Issue 6 April 1, 2018 The Methodist Messenger A Taste of What s Inside 1,4 Men s Prayer Breakfast 1 The Way Study 1 Holy Week 2 Eastertide 2 Christian Crafters 3 Relay for Life 3 Music Notes 3 Youth News 4 Puppets for Jesus 5 Welcome Rob and Rene Albright 5 Newsletter Deadline 5 Mission Moment Mark Your Calendar 1,4 Methodist Men s Prayer Breakfast - April 7 1 The Way Study Begins - April 8 1 Good Friday Way of the Cross - March 30 1 Easter Egg Hunt - March 31 1,3 Easter Sunrise Service - April 1 1,3 Easter Worship Service - April 1 2 Christian Crafters - April 20, 21 3 Relay For Life Bake Sale - April 15 3 Relay For Life Event - April 27 3 Youth Garage Sale - April 7 Friends I would be completely remiss if I did not begin this with a hearty and heartfelt HAPPY EASTER!! With our understanding of the grace of God and how this remarkable mystery of God s love was filled and unfolded in our distant world past and in our own more recent personal past, the gift of Christ remains our greatest gift from the heart of the one who created us, who nurtures us and is ultimately our eternal destiny. I look forward to our eighth Easter celebration together. There are a couple of items of consideration for you coming up nearly immediately after Easter, with this being the email just before. Please be attentive to the following: A Methodist Men s breakfast with our friends at Moses Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. This will take place on Saturday, April 7th at 8:00 a.m. We hosted the first of these opportunities several months back. A wonderful experience. First UMC men, please put this on your calendar. I look forward to the experience. Starting on Sunday, April 8th, our evening study will be Adam Hamilton s The Way: Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus. We ll gather for dinner at 6:00 p.m. with the study itself beginning at 6:30. Sign up in the common area by the Fellowship Hall. And finally remember there are experiences here during Holy Week and Easter for your spiritual edification and enhancement. Maundy Thursday (March 29) cantata at 6:00 p.m. Good Friday (March 30) Way of the Cross which is a come and go experience from noon to 1 Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday (March 31) at the Laster house starting at 11 a.m. Easter Sunrise Service (April 1) at 7:00 a.m. Service of worship honoring the risen Lord (Easter Sunday, April 1) at 10:00 a.m. (For this time remember to bring fresh cut flowers in order to flower the cross of Christ) All for now. Regards and God Bless... Richard Vision Statement: First United Methodist Church is a loving, supportive family of faith working together to share Contact Us 105 N. Montgomery St Gilmer, TX 75644 903-843-2610 Pastor, Richard Laster pastorlaster@etex.net Secretary, Esther Faggione gilmerchurch@gmail.com Financial Secretary, Lamon Geddie fumcacct@etex.net
P age 2 By Our Prayers... WE SHOW OUR LOVE Ceci Crombie, Lamon Geddie, the family of Stephanie Hamberlin, Roy Helpenstill, Dr. David Jenkins, Sarah Monk, Alton Steelman, Billie Stevenson 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. 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 EASTERTIDE April 1 - May 20 Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! This is a centuries old greeting for many Christians to proclaim on Easter Day instead of hello. We celebrate Easter season acknowledging the Risen Christ not only on one day but for the next 50 days: Easter until our Pentecost celebration on May 20 when we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church. Our Discipleship Resources notes: If the 40 days of Lent are Rehab, the 50 days of Easter are boot camp preparing (us) to live out the gifts and ministries the Spirit has birthed in (us) in the name of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. So as Easter people, for the next 50 days, let us not only proclaim but live: Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! Statistically Speaking Our Presence Blessings - Annette Date Sunday School Worship Visitors March 11 62 151 17 March 18 78 182 27 Average Year to Date Average Last Year 80 171 26 89 178 26 Christian Crafters Our Worship Service is broadcast on ETEX, Channel 999, Sunday, 6 p.m. and Monday, 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Follow us on Facebook First United M ethodist Church of Gilmer Come join the Christian Crafters on April 20th, from 6:00-10:00 p.m. and April 21st, from 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. in the CLC, room 306. This is a great opportunity to start new projects or finish those projects that you started ages ago. There will be sewing, scrapbooking, crocheting, knitting, and most importantly, fellowship! Plus we will also work on a project for the Operation Christmas Child Mission. Mark your calendar and plan to join in the fun! Lauri Woodson
Page 3 The Methodist Messenger Page 3 Easter services this year include a sunrise service in the prayer garden at 7:00 a.m. with a devotional by Pastor Laster and singing of hymns led by Annette Breazeale. The traditional Easter service will be held by Lora Robison in the sanctuary at 10:00 a.m. Preceding Sunday School or pre-service you are invited to participate in flowering the Cross in the Sanctuary. You may either bring flowers from your garden or use flowers which will be provided by the church to adorn the Cross. Music Notes Relay For Life Update The Relay For Life Team is having a Bake Sale on April 15th. This is one of our major fundraisers. Any church member who is willing to donate a baked item for the sale, please bring it to church on Sunday, April 15, by 8:30 a.m. if possible. Forms are now available at the church to sign up to be on our team and walk the track on Friday, April 27th, starting at 6:00 p.m. Scripture for Easter Sunday is from John 20:1-18. Reverend Laster s Easter message is entitled Our Not-So-Old Story. The flowering of the Cross by the congregation will be completed during the singing of the first hymn, Christ the Lord Is Risen Today. The second hymn is Up From the Grave He Arose and the last hymn is Because He Lives. Jubilation will ring Jesus Shall Reign by Eithum for the offertory. The anthem by the Chancel Choir is Forth He Came at Easter by Allen Pote. April 8, service includes scripture from John 20: 19-31. The sermon topic is Thomas, the Benefit of the Doubt. Hymns for the day include Love Divine All Loves Excelling, Breathe on Me, Breath of God, and Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus all from The United Methodist Hymnal. The Joy Singers will sing Trust in the Lord by Brighten during the Children s Moment. The anthem The Nail-Scarred Hand by McKinney will be sung by the Chancel Choir. Wishing you a most joyful Easter! Remember to purchase your Luminarias. Forms are available on the table outside the church office. We would like the forms turned in by April 20th, however sales of Luminarias will be made the night of the Relay. In Christ s love, Our goal is to raise $6,000 by the end of April to help in the fight against cancer. So far, we have collected $1,100. If you are willing to help us reach our goal, any donation is appreciated. Make checks payable to the American Cancer Society. Youth News Everyone is invited to drop by your FUMC team site at the Gilmer High school beginning at 6:00 p.m. on April 27th. Steve Nye Lora The youth will be having a garage sale on Saturday April 7th, from 8-12 in the CLC. We will be accepting donations up until that day, before our sale. If you have anything that you need help unloading or need me to meet you at the church at some point, then please contact me at 903-801-9832. The funds we raise from this sale will go towards youth going to summer camp. by Matthew Potter
Th e M ethodi st Messe nger P age 4 Puppets for The puppet teams have kept very busy this month each working on different performances. The Jr. Team Jesus will be presenting the next Children s Church performance entitled The Parable of the Lost Sheep. This is keeping in by Babs Crombie what they are studying and learning from their Sunday School lessons. The story teaches that the Shepherd loved his sheep and he was ready to give up his life for even one sheep. To him every single sheep was very special. Even when one out of 100 was lost he rejoiced when it was found. The Bible tells us that How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God. We are all children of God and that HE loves us more than anyone could possibly love us. When we are lost, when we become separated from him he feels very sad. Another word for ministers, are also called pastors, like our very own Pastor Laster. HE can be trusted and cares for and loves his flock. We gave an outreach ministry performance on March 18th at Perryville Methodist Church in keeping with what they were studying, called: Where the Light is Better. It s message was that we need to shine our light to look for lost things, and to shine our light so that others can see the love we have as Christians. To draw them to our lights, and let them know the joy of life with Christ. The Sr. Team has been busy preparing for not only one but two performances. The first one is an outreach performance at Blackstone Ridge during their historical and country themed country gathering on Saturday, April 28th. This is free and open to the public and shows how life was back in the olden days. We have a great western show planned for them with lots of good music. Bring the family out that day and enjoy some fun and interesting events. Our next performance will be Sunday, April 29th for our congregation during the Children s moment of the service. The Bus Stop Samaritan is the title of this performance, and we will use a completely different format of puppetry. It is a worldless performance using only specially made props, music and special effects to deliver it s message. You won t want to miss this one. Just a reminder to all puppet team members, that there will NOT be practice or meetings on April 1st in honor of Easter and time to be with their family. Have a very blessed Easter and remember, that Jesus is ALIVE! Blessings, Babs Saturday, April 7th 8:00 a.m., Moses Chapel www.gilmer-fumc.com
Flowers for April 1 Vance Arnold and Family April 8 The Hudgins Family April 15 Gary and Barbara Smith April 22 Dr. and Mrs. Richard Reed April 29 Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Steger Greeters Tim and Jana Pritchett Lay Reader Frank Breazeale Ushers Bob Lansdale, Kelly Rominger, Kathy McClain, Tammy Orms The Sanctuary Flowers for March 11 were given by Mr. and Mrs. Bob Bates and family in memory of loved ones. March 18 were given by Mr. and Mrs. Frank Breazeale and Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth White in honor of their families and in memory of loved ones. Deadline for Newsletter Articles April 4, Noon P age 5 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rob and Rene Albright Joined March 18, 2018 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mission Moment... For the month of April, we are collecting small stuffed animals for Operation Christmas Child. Please leave your donations in the Operation Christmas Child bin at the Donation Station across from the church office. Thank you! Barbara Smith Th e M ethodi st Messe nger Follow u s on F aceboo k - Fir st Unit e d Methodi st Church o f Gi lm er