That right, there will be a youth pool party to kick off summer and welcome our new 6th graders into the youth group. So if you’re a youth or going to be in the 6th grade next school year come on out!
When: Sunday, May 31, 4:30 -7:30
Where: The Hill’s house
The Kids Under Construction after school program will offer its services to kids during the upcoming summer months beginning the first week in June. We will change the day and times of the program to be Tuesday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. It will remain offered only to kids from Kindergarten through Third grade. The format will remain the same with bible stories, crafts, games, music and lots and lots of fun and play. Kids are asked to bring a sack lunch. Snacks will be provided throughout the day. We are planning a number of field trips to some very interesting and fun places. Please come and join us! Registration forms are available in the church office at 315 East Elm Street or can be filled out online on the Kids Under Construction webpage on this website. We will also be charging $10.00 per day per child. Payment is requested at the end of each week. The Kids Under Construction regular after school program will commence on the first day of school. We look forward to seeing you! Come and have a blast with us at First United Methodist Church!!
I am going to tell you how to get rich.
Did that get your attention? Good.
Here it is, first develop friends. Now, I am not talking about acquaintances. They are important but not they will not sustain you when you need them. George Bailey in “It’s A Wonderful Life” is reminded by Clarence the angel that no man is poor who has friends.
Second, feel good about yourself. As Norman Vincent Peale put it, “To feel good about yourself do this…start giving. Give yourself to someone in some service that you do not need to give. Just let yourself flow out to people. This will make you feel awfully good about yourself.”
Third, Open your hands, purse and wallet. It it impossible to get unless you have your hand open in giving, your purse opened to share and your wallet opened and empty. It is impossible to recieve if your wallet is stuffed full.
Fourth, giving is a heartfelt thing and not a way to take a tax deduction.
By the way, as you notice this is not advice like what stock to buy or how to save and earn. It is about life and the quality of it. You see, to be rich doesn’t take money. It takes friends, giving, sharing and having a heart. True wealth is not how much you are worth but how worthy are you. That is the secret.
Peace and grace. Reed
Up to now we have called our new emphasis Servant Evangelism but that name is owned by the church that started it. So we are going to call our effort Servants Witness which has the same goal and identification. Here are our first events. We will write more about them and how you can help as we proceed.
Remember, our goal is to serve and provide a witness from the church to our community. We feel that as we do so, some may come to the church who need a church home. We hope that as we have fun, you may join us.
June 21st. Father’s Day. 2:00p.m. We will be handing out glass cleaning packets with the church’s message to father’s at Walmart. Cathy Justus will spearhead the project.
July 4th. Parade. We will have a trailer/float and get members to ride and throw candy but we are also going to have tote bags to hand out to people along the route. The bags will have the Growing In Grace logo as well as the web site. These bags can be used instead of plastic bags when you go shopping. Warren will be in charge of the float and Nora Jean is seeing to the bags.
August 22nd. Free Child Care for Tax Free Weekend form 10 - 2. Free care in a safe environment for kids while mom stimulates the economy. We hope to work with the mall and maybe get on the big billboard. Eleanor Elam is taking charge and will get others to help. We will be advertising outside the church but we will need reservations as well.
Go Texans B :B Q and Antique auto show in September. Cathy Williams is going to get bottles of water and we will hand them out (FOR FREE!!)
As you can see, we are off to a great start. We want you to participate. If you can help with even something as simple as putting labels and note cards on the items, give us a call.
Oh and by the way, we will have a supper meeting some time in late June to schedule our next events and assess how the first event went.
Sunday night, Pastor Reed Justus introduced the concept of Servant Evangelism to a baker’s dozen of lay members of our church. Servant Evangelism is a means of bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to a large number of people in our community. It is a practical way for the church (and its members) to be that “beacon on the hill” by serving others in some simple, but meaningful ways.
This meeting (a follow-up to this morning’s sermon entitled,”It’s Your Turn”), identified some ways that we can effectively ‘take our turn’. Projects were identified for Father’s Day, July 4, sales tax holiday weekend in August, Hill College students’ move-in days, and Classic Car/Cotton Pickin’ Fair weekend, and more. The meeting was enthusiastic and included delicious sandwiches and all the fixings. More details will follow.
Everyone attending the Sunday worship services was treated to performances by the youth of Brandon United Methodist Church of Brandon, Mississippi. Special music from the choir and the bell choir was performed during the morning services including a medley of songs: Made for Worship, Because We Believe, and God Bless America. Thirty-six youth and six adult sponsors are on a tour that also includes other churches in the area, Six Flags, and a Rangers baseball game. This was actually a return visit to our church since the youth group performed here several years ago.
Rev. Justus’ message entitled “It’s Your Turn” emphasized the responsibility we all have to welcome visitors to our church as well as to actively invite people to our church. Every generation is responsible for spreading the Good News of God’s love and now it is our turn, no excuses. Sunday evening at 6:00 pm we will learn more about just how we might do that.
Scenes from today’s 9:00 am worship service follow:
Two different thoughts this week.
The first: This is Memorial Weekend. It is not the “unofficial start of summer.” It is the weekend we remember those who gave their lives in service to our nation. While you reading this in whatever form you get it, it was written with the blood and very lives of our friends, family and country men.
Go and enjoy the lake or golf course (right after church) but at least take out a moment to remember those who have fallen so that we might have such liberty.
The second, we are entering a new way of reaching out to the world and community starting this Sunday. I was reminded that this was Memorial Day Weekend and maybe we should wait a week or so.
After careful consideration, the answer is no. We will meet this Sunday at 6 with a light supper and plan how we can go about serving others and hopefully as a result growing the church.
Remember the examples in the sermon Sunday, No Reserves, No Retreats and No Regrets? We will meet with those who can and others will join us later. But if you have no plans, be with us this Sunday and we embark on an exciting and very fun way of reaching others.
Oh, and by the way, if we and the entire church actually converted the world to Christ, one day we wouldn’t have a need for memorial days if you stop to think about it.
Peace and Grace. Reed
I posted a blog yesterday about returning. Today, I will write more and post it throughout the sites. Many of you have had surgery and in many cases more crtical than mine. We all belong to that fraternity of those who have had the hands of a skilled surgeon correct the needs that we have.
I want to thank our associate, David, for all he did in my absence. Plus all of you who carried on so that I could go without worry and even not rush my return so I could heal. Thank you one and all. Also thank you all for the prayers, cards and calls. You don’t know how much they meant to me. Looking for the mail to come daily or the phone to ring from someone to give words of encouragement meant more than you will ever know.
I want to thank the staff at the hospital. They were great. You know, we are truely blessed as a nation to live where we have such excellent care available. From our local doctors and hospital to the specialists we can go to when we need one, we are blessed as a nation. In many parts of the world, we might die from the same operations, etc, that we think of as routine here in America. Nothing like the skilled, caring hands of our heath professionals. Oh, and did I mention thanks to the robot that assisted? Thanks, Sparky.
Finally, I would be more than remiss if I failed to mention God. While prayers help, doctors operate, people care, the truth is that the healing comes from God. We forget that. While we want to take all the credit and trumpet our own successes in the healing process, it is only through God that we are healed and live. In all the times of our lives, let us never forget that.
Peace and grace. Reed
I’m back.
Thank you all for the prayers and cards and calls. They meant so much to me. The recovery is going well and no surprises along the way. It was great not having to worry about things here.
God bless you one and all.
Reed
Twenty men and women met on Saturday morning, May 9, to enjoy a pancake breakfast and to discuss the implementation of a new ministry called Faith Builders sponsored by the United Methodist Men. The project is an outgrowth of the Five Practices of a Fruitful Congregation study recently completed by the church and focuses on the practices of risk taking mission and service as well as extravagant generosity. A report by Jeff Grady of Mansfield United Methodist Church explained his church’s similar efforts which they call Hands of Christ. He reported that their project began small, but now occurs 6 times each year serving mostly non-church members who are homeowners and are, by reason of age and/or circumstances, unable to perform fairly simple household repairs or outdoor projects. The suggested names come primarily from 2 sources: recommendations from Meals on Wheels representatives and suggestions from the staff of the church’s Wesley Community Center which provides counseling, job assistance, financial assistance, and operates a thrift shop. They celebrate each year’s projects with an end of the year dinner, complete with recognition of those who have participated by working or donating money and materials, as well as hearing from clients they have served.
Attendees were asked to fill out a simple questionnaire to check off areas in which they might provide assistance for this worthwhile activity. The first project is planned for June 13, but at least one more event will be undertaken before the end of the year. Painting and hammering are two important skills, but providing lunches for the workers, presenting a devotional before work or during lunch, making phone calls, assessing needs of prospective clients, gathering supplies, taking photos, coordinating communications, etc. are also vital parts of the ministry. Everyone can help! See Henry Moore, Tom Neely, or any member of United Methodist Men to volunteer your services.
Following are some scenes from Saturday’s breakfast meeting:
