From the Heart…

A busy time of year…

Yet all did their part

Crafting and baking—

It came from the heart.

Selling and buying

While visiting with friends

This year’s festival

Brought laughter and grins!

Pumpkins were sold

While the children played

Bar-b-que was enjoyed…

What a beautiful day.

It was all made possible

Because each did his part.

We are ALL a family.

Here at FUMC is where it starts!

You Are Invited!

This Sunday, October 30 at both the 9 AM and 11 AM services we will be having a Love Feast and all of you are invited.  What’s a Love Feast you ask?

The Love Feast, or Agape Meal, is a Christian fellowship meal recalling the meals Jesus shared with disciples during his ministry and expressing the koinonia (community, sharing, fellowship) enjoyed by the family of Christ.

Although its origins in the early church are closely interconnected with the origins of the Lord’s Supper, the two services became quite distinct and should not be confused with each other.

The modern history of the Love Feast began when Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians in Germany introduced a service of sharing food, prayer, religious conversation, and hymns in 1727.  John Wesley first experienced it among the Moravians in Savannah, Georgia, ten years later.  His diary notes:  “After evening prayers, we joined with the Germans in one of their love-feasts.  It was begun and ended with thanksgiving and prayer, and celebrated in so decent and solemn a manner as a Christian of the apostolic age would have allowed to be worthy of Christ.”

It quickly became a feature of the Evangelical Revival and a regular part of Methodist society meetings in Great Britain and throughout the English-speaking world.  As Methodist immigrated to North America they made Love Feasts an important part of early American Methodism.

There will be praise and prayer, scripture and sermon, and yes, the sharing of food.  So come join your family around God’s table this Sunday.

See you then,

Pastor Donna

We are about to enter a new season… a season full of reds, golds, oranges, greens and yellows. A season of cooler weather. A season of change.  A time to be thankful. A time to count your blessings. A time of renewal, a time of Thanksgiving.

Please don’t think that just one time a year only is set aside to give thanks.  That is just plain wrong! We are to be thankful every day for what we have and do not mourn or desire what we do not have.  It is easy for most of us to be thankful because we have a way to get around, a roof over our heads, money in the bank and food on the table.  But what about those less fortunate? What about those right here in our own town who do not have those things?

Can we help? You bet! Use your resources to help those less fortunate than yourself. Adopt a family for Thanksgiving and for Christmas. Send a card to a shut-in or nursing home resident. Take them food. Whatever you can do.  Just do something.

The youth are planning some upcoming activities in this regard. Be sure to watch the newsletter and listen to the announcements in church for more information.

See ya Sunday!

Nanette

Here is a calendar of events for the Harvest Festival to be held at the First United Methodist Church, 315 E. Elm Street, Hillsboro, Texas, tomorrow (Saturday, October 22nd) from 10:00 am to 1:30 pm:

 Country Store opens at 10 AM

 Silent Auction opens at 10 AM

 Children’s Activities begin at 10 AM

 BBQ Lunch starts serving at 11:30 AM ($10.00 tickets)

 Winners of Silent Auction are announced at 1:30 PM (Please be there to pay for and pick up your items at 1:30 pm.)

The Harvest Festival is a church wide event and raises money for the Church’s various ministries. There will be a Country Store offering handcrafted gift items and homemade goodies – baked goods, jellies and jams, etc.  There will be live and silent auctions, featuring gift baskets and gifts or services from local merchants.  The Children’s Activities will include face and hair painting, crafts, carnival games, and even a booth for making Christmas cards to send to currently deployed soldiers in the Middle East.

The BBQ lunch costs $10 per adult, $5.00 per child 10 and under and will be a full BBQ meal, complete with dessert and beverage. Lunch starts at 11:30 am and runs until 1:30 pm or until all the food is sold, whichever comes first. Tickets can be purchased at the Church office, from members of the Church, or at the door.

One of the things I kept hearing at the congregational meetings this past August is that First UMC, Hillsboro is a family.  I certainly believe that.  We are all children of God and are brothers and sisters in Christ.  Every Sunday morning we get together for a family reunion of sorts.  It’s fun to gather at our Father’s house and see those we haven’t seen in awhile.  One Sunday a month we even get to gather around the table and feast together on the meal God has provided.    What else do we do at these family reunions?  We worship together and pray together.  We sing together – both songs that are familiar and some that are not.  We laugh with the children and coo at the babies.  We listen to the word of God and then are sent out to be the people of God.

We miss those who do not make it to the reunion and hold a seat for them when next they come.  We grieve when family members die or move away.  We rejoice when new family members are born or join our family.  We lift up family members who are sick.  We care about each other and others out there who aren’t part of the family yet.  We serve our family and those of our family who can no longer make it to the reunion.

For many members it feels like we really have two separate families.  The people in one worship service don’t know those in the other worship service.  Some think if we had just one service we would know everyone.  I can tell you though, that I’ve been to many family reunions where I hardly knew any of the people who gathered at one place at one time.

The Church Council has been planning some events where the whole family can gather and get to know each other again.  Of course TNT is one such opportunity – people from both services are usually at TNT and can choose to sit with those they don’t know well in order to get to know them better.  The Harvest Festival coming up this Saturday is another opportunity for the whole church family to come together.  Yes, it is a fundraiser, but it’s also about the whole church pulling together, working together, fellowshipping with each other, getting to know each other better.  We hope all of you will come and participate in this event.

Coming up in November the Council is planning a Cowboy game watching day.  It will be on Sunday, November 13 at Noon.  We will gather in the Family Life Center for chili and game watching.  Everyone is invited to dress comfortably and join your family for a fun afternoon of cheering on the Cowboys.

So, my brothers and sisters, come to the reunion – we have one every Sunday at 9 and 11 AM.  And please come to the additional reunions – at the Harvest Festival on October 22 and the Cowboys game watching on November 13.

Your sister in Christ,

Pastor Donna

This Saturday, October 15th at 11:30 a.m., the pumpkins will be arriving by a great big ole’ truck!!  We will need plenty of hands to help unload them!  As a great incentive to come and help, we will be serving pizza afterwards!!!  Yummy!  Please be there on Saturday morning to help!  With many, the job will not be near so hard or take near so long.  Won’t you come and help?

The youth would also like your help on October 31st in the church parking lot for their sponsored event, Trunk or Treat.  They would ask that anyone who wishes to to load the trunk of their car with candy to pass out to all the kids that come by for Trick or Treat.  You may wish to decorate your trunk and/or yourself!  That is perfectly fine and will please the kids tremendously!!  Hope you can help!!

Please remember the Senior High Sunday School class meets at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings on the third floor.  Please also remember the youth meetings on Sunday evenings at 5:30 in the basement.  We need more attendance at both of these meetings!  Please mark these things on your calendar and don’t forget about them!!

We need plenty of youth to help with the kid’s games and activities during the Harvest Festival on October 22nd!  If you would like to help, please contact Nanette at the youth meetings, leave a message at the church or call her cell phone which is (254) 221-5620.  Please come and help!!

As you can see, there is much going on within the month of October and your help is vitally needed!!  Please mark all these things on your calendar and come and help out the church!  It is a great way to serve your church and the people in it who really need you!  Remember, we are all family and therefore, we serve each other.

See ya Sunday…

Nanette

Since we all have Red Ranger Fever, I thought I would share this story about the First Baseball Game. It was given to me by Bobby Bragan, who was a shortstop, catcher and coach in American Major League Baseball. He played for the Philadelphia Phillies and Brooklyn Dodgers. He was manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Indians, and Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves.

I met him after he came out of retirement and managed the Fort Worth Cats. He came to speak at a Father-Son Banquet and gave me this poem. See if you get all the biblical references. I didn’t realize baseball was ordained by God!

- Pastor Donna

The First Baseball Game

It says Eve stole first-

Adam second -

Solomon umpired the game.

Rebecca went to the well with a pitcher

And Ruth in the field made a name.

Goliath was struck out by David -

A base hit was made on Abel by Cain,

And the Prodigal Son made a great home run.

Brother Noah gave checks out for rain.

Jonah wailed—went down swinging.

Later he popped up again.

A lion-drive by old Nebuchadnezzar

Made Daniel warm up in the pen.

Delilah was pitching to Samson

When he brought down the house with a clout,

And the Angels that day made a double-play

That’s when Adam and Eve were thrown out.

 

Old St. Pete was checking errors -

Also had charge of the gate.

Salome sacrificed Big John the Baptist

Who wound up ahead on the plate.

 

Satan was pitching that apple

And looked as though he might fan ‘em all,

But when Joshua let go with a mighty blow

And blasted one right at the wall

And then the Lord wound up and took good aim,

And started that Very First Baseball Game.

(Courtesy of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues)

The Pumpkin Patch, held annually at the First United Methodist Church at 315 E. Elm St., Hillsboro, is a popular fall event and will run this year from October 16th until Halloween.  Pumpkins of all sizes, colors and shapes spread out across the front lawn of the Church, and families, local schools, homeschoolers and preschoolers all visit the Pumpkin Patch for a special storytelling hour, complete with snacks. photo taking opportunities and more.  Last year more than 800 children visited the Pumpkin Patch and we expect that many, if not more, to visit again this year.

The Pumpkin Patch is open to all - from 10 am to 6 pm, Mondays through Saturdays, and after services on Sundays from 1 pm to 6 pm.  If you have a large group, or wish to enjoy the storytelling and other children’s activities, please make a reservation by calling Nanette Wyatt at 254-221-5620.

Here are some of last year’s photos…

 Here is a calendar of events for the Harvest Festival to be held at the First United Methodist Church, 315 E. Elm Street, Hillsboro, Texas, on Saturday, October 22nd (from 10:00 am to 1:30 pm)

 Country Store opens at 10 AM

 Silent Auction opens at 10 AM

 Children’s Activities begin at 10 AM

 BBQ Lunch starts serving at 11:30 AM ($10.00 tickets)

 Winners of Silent Auction are announced at 1:30 PM

The Harvest Festival is a church wide event and raises money for the Church’s various ministries. There will be a Country Store offering handcrafted gift items and homemade goodies – baked goods, jellies and jams, etc.  There will be live and silent auctions, featuring gift baskets and gifts or services from local merchants.  The Children’s Activities will include face and hair painting, crafts, carnival games, and even a booth for making Christmas cards to send to currently deployed soldiers in the Middle East.

The BBQ lunch costs $10 per adult, $5.00 per child 10 and under and will be a full BBQ meal, complete with dessert and beverage. Lunch starts at 11:30 am and runs until 1:30 pm or until all the food is sold whichever comes first. Tickets can be purchased at the Church office, from members of the Church, or at the door.

October is turning out to be a busy, busy month here at the church with the Pumpkin Patch, the Harvest Festival, Trunk or Treat and, of course, all the other regularly scheduled activities that go on every month.  How can you help?  You can help in a number of ways with all of these activities!  People are always needed in any and all kinds of ways!  Come and help unload pumpkins on the 15th, volunteer to sit in the Pumpkin Patch for a 30-minute period of time, the youth are asked to help with the kid’s games and kid’s section of the Harvest Festival, but there are lots of other things any one of us can do!  We can help in the Country Store, volunteer our time in the Arts & Crafts section, help with the setting of the tables for the meal and clean-up afterward, come and spend your money in the silent auction and the live auction, purchase a meal ticket and get to know people in the community and even in your church that you may not know, load up the trunk of your car or the back of your pickup truck with candy and come and park it in the parking lot to pass out candy to all of the kids from the neighborhood and the church who go out trick or treating! 

Service to others is one of the most important ways we can live out the life that Jesus wants for us.  I don’t believe there is a story in the Bible where Jesus refused to help anyone!  Why should we then?  Come out and serve your church and its people and people in the surrounding community and neighborhood!  That’s what this church is all about.  Service……. won’t you be a part???

See ya Sunday….. Nanette