Overcoming the Fear Factor

Volume 7, Issue 9 September 2013 B U S I N E S S N A M E Overcoming the Fear Factor Mark 6:50 (NLT) They were all terrified when they saw him. But Jesus spoke to them at once, It s all right, he said. I am here! Don t be afraid. A little boy who was in the school play had two lines that he practiced over and over with the help of his parents, It is I be not afraid. When the curtain raised and he saw the huge crowd the words came out this way It s me and I m scared! Sixty three times in the KJV of the Bible we read the words fear not. The word fear appears 385 times. The word afraid appears an additional 190 times. These facts may cause you to ask, Why does the Bible speak so often concerning fear? Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend put it this way in their book, God Will Make a Way. Fear can keep us bound so that we live less and less of life. The cost is the life that we did not live because of fear. Jeff Walling in his book Until I Return puts it this way When fear takes control over our faith, it renders us ineffective in doing the very tasks to which our Lord has called us. Could it be that we as individuals and local churches have been less than we should have been because we allowed our fear to be stronger than our faith? God needs in these days in which we live people who will believe His promises and live out their faith. So how does God help us to overcome our fears? 1 John 4:18 (NKJV) There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear. This is indeed one of my favorite verses in the Bible. Perfect love cast out all fear. Why would that be true? Well first of all the only perfect love humanity has ever known came from the only perfect person to ever live, Jesus our Lord. I like the way the LB paraphrases this passage 1 John 4:18 (LB) We need have no fear of someone who loves us perfectly; his perfect love for us eliminates all dread If we are afraid it shows that we are not fully convinced that he really loves us. I am fully convinced that Jesus loves me how about you? I know this; I desire to live my life faithfully not fearfully! I desire to walk each day in the promises of God not in dread of the future. I want to hear Him say well done good and faithful servant, not Oh what you could have done if you had not been so fearful! UPCOMING EVENTS 9/2-District Office Closed for Labor Day 9/16-Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett will be in our District for the Day 9/8-Charge Conference, Steele UMC, 4PM 9/22-Charge Conference, New Oregon UMC, 6pm 9/9, 9/23, 9/30-Romans Bible Study, District Office, 9am 9/29-Charge Conference, Lester Memorial UMC, 4pm 9/15-Robin will Preach at Sweet Home UMC, 11:00am 9/30-Circuit Rider Meeting, Lunch at Western Sizzlin, 1pm District Office

Page 2 Let s Welcome Bishop Wallace-Padgett to Our Mountain Lakes District, Monday 9/16! We look forward to having Bishop Wallace-Padgett in the District. She will be at Springville First from 9:00-10:30. She will be discussing "The Urgency of the Call" followed by a time of question and answers. We look forward to having her come and invite all clergy and laity of the District to attend. A light breakfast will be served. We hope to see you on September 16th. Mike Ratliff, Pastor Springville First UMC Fort Payne First UMC Fort Payne First UMC will be hosting Bishop Wallace-Padgett for lunch. We will provide a meal for all who wish to attend. We will then hear from our Bishop on Vision, Values, and Mission followed by a time of conversation between our Bishop and our attendees. We invite all to come and join us for a special time of food and fellowship with Bishop Wallace-Padgett. We will begin at noon and end at 1:30 p.m. Please plan to join us. Ricky L. Smith, Pastor Fort Payne First UMC Centre First UMC Centre First UMC is honored to host Bishop Wallace-Padgett for the afternoon. She will arrive at Centre First around 3:00pm and she will speak about The Direction of Our Annual Conference. There will be question and answer time to follow. Please come and join us for this time of fellowship with Bishop Wallace-Padgett. We welcome everyone! John Mullaney, Pastor Centre First UMC

Page 3 FALL 2013 CHARGE CONFERENCES Below is the schedule for our Fall Charge Conferences. Please make a note on your calendar when and where your Charge Conference will be held. We are having Charge Conferences by Circuits again this year. So look for your Circuit Leader s name. Also, make sure you let people in your church know that they are welcome to attend. We will take care of necessary business, but this will mainly be a time of worship. Sunday, September 8, 2013 _Freddie Keener/Vicki Cater s Circuit at Steele UMC 4PM Sunday, September 22, 2013_Ricky Smith/Jeff Davis Circuit at New Oregon UMC 6PM Sunday, September 29, 2013_Barry Hallman s Circuit at Lester Memorial 4PM Sunday, October 6, 2013_Carrie Kramer s Circuit at Southside UMC at 5PM Sunday, October 13, 2013_Tony Jones Circuit at Albertville First 2pm, Chris Cone s Circuit at Robertson s Chapel 5:00PM Sunday, October 20, 2013_Steve Baccus Circuit at Glencoe First 5PM Sunday, October 27, 2013_Tim Kendrick s Circuit at Fairview (Centre) 5PM Sunday, November 3, 2013_Terry Bentley/Marvin McCormick s Circuit at Guntersville First 3PM *Remember to lock Charge Conference Reports before your Charge Conference date. Your Pastor s Compensation Profile should be turned into the District office the week before your Charge Conference. If you have questions call the District office.*

Page 4 Mountain Lakes District Church Growth Conference Encouraging Church Growth Growing to the Next Level District Superintendent Robin Scott led a group of around 150 clergy and lay leaders of the Mountain Lakes District, Saturday August 10 th at Camp Sumatanga for an outstanding Church Growth Conference. The conference was held in Hutto Auditorium from 9am-2pm. There were four sessions: 1: Our Primary Mission 2: Developing Inspired Leadership 3: Principles & Pitfalls of Growth 4: The Importance of Sunday Worship

Page 5 MOUNTAIN LAKES DISTRICT PASTOR S APPRECIATION DINNER DOESN T THIS LOOK GREAT? COME AND JOIN US MONDAY, OCTOBER 21ST AT 6PM. GUNTERSVILLE FIRST UMC WILL BE OUR HOST. CALL THE DISTRICT OFFICE TO MAKE YOUR RESERVATION! ALL PASTOR S, ACTIVE, RE- TIRED, SURVIVING CLERGY SPOUSES AND ATEM S ARE INVITED TO ATTEND. CONTACT: Amy Marbut at amarbut@umcna.org or (256)546-7405 (Childcare will be available. Tell Amy your needs when you make your reservation.)

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Page 7 NEW MISSION PROJECT!!! There is much excitement in the small community of Gaylesville. Under the guidance and support of District Superintendent Dr. Robin Scott, Union United Methodist Church and their pastor Rev. Jimmy D. Hall are revitalizing the former Gaylesville United Methodist Church as a part of their outreach ministry. Everyone will be welcomed! Nancy Locke and Ruth Hall, both Cherokee County Master Gardener interns, have taken on the task of cleaning up the church grounds along with Paul Locke, Robert Bryant and Jimmy D. Hall. We will begin this new ministry on Sunday, September 29 with a community signing, featuring The Blue Pond Boys quartet. October 2 will be the beginning of a weekly pot-luck supper, followed by Bible Study, beginning at 6:00 P.M. If you have questions, comments or would like to be a part of this new mission project, contact Rev. Jimmy Hall at jimmy.hall@umcna.org.

Page 8 New Oregon United Methodist Church #24 Habitat for Humanity For the 24 th year, the last full week in July has been Mission Team trip time. This year it was to Lucedale, Mississippi to join hands with Habitat for Humanity to build a house. The theme this year were words from two of our past volunteers who are now building houses not made with human hands: Herschel Myrick, We have built you a house; you build a home. and Uncle Woody Biddle, God loves you and I love you too. These sayings by two of these patriarch's were lived out in Lucedale this year. Randy Mitchell got it all started when he was elected as Mission Chair in the church about a quarter century ago. He decided to gather the skills of men and women in the church, lead a caravan throughout the Southeast, and build houses for folks who need them. Rev. Terry Bentley was the pastor when this began and Rev. Jeff Davis and Rev. Keith Davis keep it going. New Oregon and friends from other churches provide the labor and others the materials. It's a really great combination of skills and a willingness to do whatever is needed at the moment. Without question mentoring our young folks stands out in the process. On the job site those old enough to participate learn skills from those who have done all the various building jobs over the years. Back at the sleeping quarters, dining, play, and worship areas the young join in with the older and learn cleaning and cooking. They know they will become hands on the building site and hands in the kitchen so the learning is very important. I think 3 weeks old is the youngest volunteer to make the trip over the years but the young are very important to all of us. New Oregon UMC makes this possible by subsidizing the cost, it takes the entire church, plus, the volunteers pay to volunteer. That's one of the marvels people pay to go sleep in comfortable and uncomfortable settings to work in the extreme heat in order to celebrate yet another house for those in need. It's not what we can get but we can give that surfaces throughout the week. If you're interested in making the trip with us, contact Ben Padgett, (256) 418-0558 or ben.padgett@umcna.org Shalom, Ben MONDAY MORNING!

Page 9 FUN TODAY! WORK TOMORROW! 31/2 DAYS LATER!

Page 10 Christmas Shoe Boxes for Third World Children 2013 The Mountain Lakes District is helping this year with the Christmas Shoe Boxes for Third World Children. We encourage your church to take part in this Ministry. We have the Shoe Boxes at the District office for you to pick up. Please have all Shoe Boxes back to the Mountain Lakes District office by Tuesday, October 1 st so that we can deliver them to Decatur. If you want the Advent Coloring book, email me and I will send it to you. Please following all instructions below and let your children have a great time helping! Be Blessed! Amy (amarbut@umcna.org) Suggested Gifts for Third World Shoe Boxes Boxes should be marked with ages (2-12) and whether it is for a boy OR girl. Hot Wheels Cars McDonalds Toys Small Dolls Marbles (no more than 5/baggie) Small balls Wash Cloth Soap ** Lotion ** Shampoo Toothbrush & toothpaste Comb and Brush Small Hand Mirror 1 pr Flip Flops (Each box needs one pr) Underwear (underpants & t-shirt) Shorts & tee-shirts (boys & girls) Dresses 1 pr Socks for Sunday (No candy, bubble gum, suckers) ** MUST be in a separate zip lock bag School Supplies: Pencils (limit 4), paper, crayons, colored pencils, small pencil sharpeners, etc. Little Girls: Barrettes, ribbons, bows, headbands, scrunches, ponytail holders, etc. All liquids should be in a zip lock bag. We are furnishing the shoe boxes. Please try to fill each shoe box. Do NOT over fill! If one is bulging at the top, we cannot get them in the case. It is that close. An under filled box means one child will only get one or two things, while his\her brother\sister gets a full box. This can cause unhappiness in the home. Printed on the boxed are (1) the manifest form, please fill out with a Sharpie magic marker indicating whether it is for a boy or girl and their age. It needs to list what you have in the box. In addition the Customs Declaration form needs to be filled out. Thirdly, please mail a check payable to AHMEN for $4.00 OR one check for your whole group to: Mrs. Sharon Bowie, 516 Ridgeview Dr., Jasper, AL 35504. AHMEN stands for (Alabama Honduras Medical Education Network.) The $2.00 of the $4.00 helps get it to the missionary and the other $2.00 helps the missionary pay the cost of getting it to the neediest! Be sure to send the $4.00. Several churches have found that by getting their people together on a Wednesday night, it is beneficial in sharing items like a bag of marble because if you give more than five (5) marbles, it causes problems. Other children may jump on a child and take away things if it is more than the child can hold in one hand. Other items that can be shared at your packing party are pencils, erasers pencil sharpers, wash clothes, etc. You can also share a tape gun to put the boxes together. It can be a real fun party!

Page 11 Christmas Shoe Boxes for Third World Children 2013 con t The Advent Coloring Booklet, tells the Christmas story in Spanish. Ask us to send you a file so you can print the number of Christmas Coloring Books in Spanish that you need. You can print the coloring book at your church office. Make as many copies as you need. The book requires three pieces of paper printed on both sides. Print one side, then the other. (It can also be used to reach Hispanic families in your community.) Some churches ask their pre-school, elementary children and Senior Citizens to color one part of the cover on the coloring book. This means the children in a third world country can use the crayons in the shoe box to complete these. So ask your people if they might be interested in personalizing your shoe boxes. Be creative and have fun! Does your Vacation Bible School need a project? Why not the Christmas Shoe Box ministry for a third world country? If we send the manifest about one month ahead of the container, Customs will enter it into their system and the shipment will clear in half the time. Here are our deadlines: Deadlines October 1, Tuesday October 14, Monday October 21st, Monday October 22nd, Tuesday All Shoe Boxes in the Mountain Lakes Dist Office, 2804 Wills Creek Rd, Gadsden All Shoe Boxes in an AHMNE distribution/collection point. All cases of Shoe Boxes in the Decatur Warehouse and manifested Manifest shipped to Missionary and Customs (1 month lead time to clear Customs BEFORE the container arrives in a third world country in time for distribution to Churches.) November 9th, Saturday Ship Container with the cases of Shoe Boxes, clears Customs around Thanksgiving And distribution to churches begins two weeks later. For more information, please feel free to contact Ms Joy Greene, at joylgreene@gmail.com Home: 205-699-9279 OR Ray Crump, 256-642-1759 RayLCR@aol.com ONLY 2 CHURCHES HAVE PICKED UP BOXES SO FAR???

Page 12 Fair Share Remittance 10% Tithe A Tithe is a Faithful Biblical Response People have asked me everywhere I am, Are we going to be able to keep the tithe system here in the Mt. Lakes District? The answer is yes! We had a very good year as most of our churches were faithful both in promptness and by giving a full tithe. All of our churches participated at some level. The first year of this experiment we were short of where we had been in previous years. This year we exceeded those levels and will finish the year more than ten percent ahead of last year. We are increasing our grants to local church projects from one thousand a month to two thousand a month. It is our goal to put 50% of what the District receives back into local churches. So thank you ahead of time for your faithfulness in 2013. If you have been tithing thank you and keep up that faithfulness. If you have been giving but not to the level of a tithe then increase that until you reach that fair share gift. And if you have not been participating to any significant level please know these gifts are making a difference and we look forward to your full participation! FAIR SHARE REMITTANCE RECEIPTS FOR JULY 2013 08/01/13 3005-Antioch (Attalla) $330.50 (June) 3010-Belcher s Chapel $68.80 3012-Bethlehem $221.74 3016-Bothwell $88.10 3026-Clear Creek $25.00 3029-Corbinville $153.00 3031-Crossville $1,040.00 3033-Daniel s Chapel $78.30 (June) 3034-Deerman s Chapel $225.60 3047-Fort Payne First $2946.57 3058-Henagar $551.10 3060-Hewett Memorial $1,000.00 3066-Joppa $210.80 3073-Martling $59.00 (January) 3073-Martling $59.00 (February) 3073-Martling $59.00 (March) 3073-Martling $59.00 (April) 3073-Martling $59.00 (May) 3073-Martling $59.00 (June) 3073-Martling $59.00 (July) 3073-Martling $59.00 (August) 3078-Miller s Chapel $100.50 3082-Mt. High $264.80 3105-Salem (Cedar Bluff) $253.60 3106-Samuel s Chapel $613.00 3108-Section $200.00 3109-Skirum $944.02 3117-St. Mary s $141.50 3119-St. Paul (Ashville) $231.42 (May) 3120-St. Paul (Ft. Payne) $622.60 (June) 3124-Trinity (Ft. Payne) $87.00 3129-Union $163.30 3130-Union Chapel $929.29 3139-Whitehall $238.87 3141-Whorton Bend $203.50 08/06/13 3002-Albertville First $3,278.48 3003-Altoona First $776.98 3004-Antioch (Oneonta) $108.00 3005-Antioch/Goodsell $479.00 3009-Attalla First $722.84 (May) 3020-Cedar Hill $330.80 08/06/13, con t 3021-Centre $84.90 3023-Chaney s Chapel $304.50 3028-Collinsville First $558.48 3040-Ebenezer (Grove Oak) $269.00 3044-Flat Rock $228.52 3056-Haygood Memorial $180.21 3063-Howellton $98.70 3067-Julia Street $498.70 (June) 3067-Julia Street $455.30 3075-McCauley s Chapel $496.37 (June) 3076-McNutt Memorial $105.50 3079-Morton s Chapel $150.90 3081-Mt. Carmel $110.00 3083-Mt. Oak $113.20 3098-Rainbow City First $1,420.10 3100-Red Hill (Attalla) $459.90 3111-Snead First $817.40 3115-Springville First $1,547.70 3122-Sweet Home $594.34 3133-Walker s Chapel $155.00 3138-Wesley s Chapel $119.30 08/08/13 3011-Bellevue $1,300.00 (May) 3013-Blanche $143.90 3015-Bogan Chapel $96.60 3027-Collins Chapel $190.00 3030-Cox s Chapel $189.00 3052-Gibb s Chapel $20.67 (June) 3059-Henryville $1,275.00 (June) 3088-New Oregon $1,038.73 3091-Pine Grove (Blount) $58.50 3099-Red Hill (Guntersville) $95.00 (June) 3099-Red Hill (Guntersville) $53.00 3136-Warrenton $739.00 (June)

Page 13 08/13/13 3007-Asbury (Ft Payne) $2,028.00 3022-Centre First $3,481.07 3038-East Gadsden $1,107.24 3053-Glencoe First $301.30 (August) 3065-Ider $270.45 3069-King s Chapel $100.00 3074-Marvin $112.00 3077-Mentone $235.40 (April) 3077-Mentone $215.10 (May) 3077-Mentone $283.90 (June) 3080-Mountain Chapel $176.90 3096-Pleasant Hill (Gadsden) $218.00 (June) 3096-Pleasant Hill (Gadsden) $218.00 3097-Portersville $108.00 3102-Rock Springs $148.20 (June) 3102-Rock Springs $97.50 3116-St. Mark s $421.00 3121-Steele $889.35 3142-The Summit $651.10 08/15/13 3017-Brooklyn $54.70 3035-Diamond $161.70 3039-Ebenezer (Cedar Bluff) $336.38 3041-Fairview (Dawson) $294.82 3046-Forrest Home $288.40 (June) 3046-Forrest Home $122.80 3071-Liberty $319.00 (August) 3092-Pine Grove (Dekalb) $190.00 3112-Snead Memorial $133.00 3123-Trinity (Rainsville) $617.45 3137-Webster s Chapel $275.26 08/20/13 3025-Christ Church $142.70 3042-Fairview (Centre) $1,089.00 3053-Glencoe First $200.50 (wk of 8/11) 3055-Guntersville First $11,832.68 3057-Hebron $330.50 3062-Hokes Bluff $2,180.78 3072-Lusk Chapel $128.40 3089-Nixon s Chapel $44.40 (January) 3089-Nixon s Chapel $69.50 (February) 3089-Nixon s Chapel $71.00 (March) 3089-Nixon s Chapel $66.90 (April) 3089-Nixon s Chapel $55.50 (May) 3089-Nixon s Chapel $75.30 (June) 3095-Pleasant Hill (Springville) $250.00 3104-Salem (Geraldine) $236.51 3131-Union Hill $37.98 08/22/13 3019-Cedar Bluff First $1,030.41 3037-Dutton $241.80 3043-Fairview (Albertville) $540.73 3119-St. Paul (Ashville) $271.54 (June) 08/27/13 3053-Glencoe First $134.50 (August) 3070-Lester Memorial $5,592.02 3085-New Bethel $102.40 3114-Southside (Southside) $123.84 3114-Southside (Southside) $267.84 (August) 3120-St. Paul (Ft. Payne) $589.60 3132-Valley Head $106.90 08/29/13 3010-Belcher s Chapel $57.50 (August) 3012-Bethlehem $245.80 (August) 3016-Bothwell $87.20 (August) 3021-Centre (Blount) $101.10 (August) 3026-Clear Creek $25.00 (August) 3029-Corbinville $157.90 (August) 3031-Crossville First $1,008.00 (August) 3033-Daniel s Chapel $69.56 3034-Deerman s Chapel $198.40 (August) 3047-Fort Payne First $3,520.90 (August) 3049-Gadsden First $4,403.25 3059-Henryville $500.00 3060-Hewett Memorial $1,000.00 (August) 3076-McNutt Memorial $86.60 (August) 3088-New Oregon $1,100.70 (August) 3100-Red Hill $478.40 (August) 3107-Sand Rock $153.50 3116-St. Mark s $321.00 (August) 3122-Sweet Home $727.01 (August) 3139-Whitehall $218.90 (August) 3141-Whorton Bend $172.50 (August)

Page 14 The United Methodist Women Upcoming events are the District Missions on August 10 th at Gadsden First United Methodist Church. Hope to see you at both events. The following Agenda is for the rest of 2013 United Methodist Women. SEPT 7 th OCT 5 th OCT 19 th Roma of Europe study at Albertville First United Methodist. Nancy Lane is the teacher. Registration to be announced. Annual Meeting at Sumatanga District Annual Meeting at Sweet Home United Methodist Church President: Susan Minton, (256)390-0658 jmsminton@att.net VPresident: Sheila Billingsley, (256)543-1604 bbillingsley164@bellsouth.net Secretary: Dianne Fielder, (256)492-1061 ruthfd@aol.com Treasurer: Dyanne Sterling, (205)274-7544 Dyanne205@yahoo.com Secretary of Program Resources: Frances Patterson, (256)659-4138 fpatterson@farmerstel.com Hope this will be helpful in planning your attendance to these events. See you at Refresh and Retreat. God Bless, Susan Minton CHECK OUT OUR DISTRICT WEBSITE AT www.mountainlakesdistrict.org. We are trying new things weekly. If you have things you want on the webpage, call the district office, we will get them on there for you! We would LOVE to hear from your CHURCH!!!!!! What has your church celebrated recently? What has your church done that you would like to share with others in the Mountain Lakes District? We want to hear from YOU! PLEASE email your notes to amarbut@umcna.org, fax them to 256-546-7407, or mail them to 2804 Wills Creek Rd, Gadsden, AL 35904 Thanks! Mountain Lakes District Office of the United Methodist Church, 2804 Wills Creek Rd, Gadsden, AL 35904 (256)546-7405, Fax(256)546-7407 rscott@umcna.org amarbut@umcna.org website: mountainlakesdistrict.org http://www.facebook.com/mldistrict