FIRST UNITED
METHODIST CHURCH
Worship at The Table, UMCOR Packing
FUMC Newsletter 10/16/24
WORSHIP
Topic: Leave & Follow
Speaker: Pastor Zach
Time: 10:00am
Also available on WKSR Radio 100.9 at 10am, YouTube & Facebook Live!
A Prayer in the Midst of Disaster:
O God, Be our guide, that we may not be afraid to walk where no light shines. You fill your creation with hope for peace, but you also remind us of nature's destructive power. Shelter us in the midst of storms, that we may offer shelter to those around us. May we show forth the light of your glory by offering ourselves in love to all who are hurting, and all who are helping those who hurt. When all we have is taken away, still you hold us as your very own. Blessed are you, Lord God of the universe, now and forever. Amen.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Our Chilli-Cornbread-Cookie Cookie Fundraiser is THIS SUNDAY - Oct 20th - Sign Up Below! (Funds go to hurricane relief)
The last day to register for the Youth Fall Retreat is THIS SUNDAY October 20th. The cost is $50.
Charge Conference is October 23rd.
November 1-3 we will have a church-wide retreat to Beersheba Springs. Sign up below.
Beersheba Registration Link: https://forms.gle/cpEyVqF5o2vQkBsR9
Chilli-Cornbread-Cookie Fundraiser Registration Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScGWg93WwNzwdeVoHIhWlLQ5a16m9IzwfEhZhh-XA-5wr1JpQ/viewform
EVENTS
Today, 10/16
@2:00pm Painting the Blessing Box at The Table
@3:30 Setup for Casual Worship
@5:30pm Roots Meeting
@5:30pm Garden Team Meeting
@6:30pm Chancel Choir
Tomorrow, 10/17
@9:00am Circle of Care
@5:30pm Wesley Packs Food with RFD
@5:30pm Disciple Bible Study
Friday, 10/18
Wedding Rehearsal
Saturday, 10/19
Wedding
Sunday 10/20
@9:00am Sunday School
@10:00am Worship
@12:00pm Bible Beans
@4:00pm Games & Food Setup at The Table
@4:30pm Tasting & Voting
@5:00pm Casual Worship
@5:00pm Youth Group
@5:00pm Courageous Girls
Monday 10/21
@8:15am Monday Morning Prayers
Tuesday 10/22
@5:00pm Wesley Gathering
Hurricane Relief
Thank you to everyone who gave and came out to support the disaster relief efforts on Sunday, October 13th. It was wonderful to see everyone working together to do what they can to help those affected by the hurricane.
Our team of volunteers packed 28 flood buckets and approx. 80 hygiene kits. We will receive any supplies still needed this week, and staff will pack them in any unfinished buckets before sending them to UMCOR.
Our church raised $2,015 and will be sending a $1,751 donation to UMCOR in addition to the supplies already packed.
The United Methodist Women’s Group will be going to volunteer at UMCOR on October 29th and will take any remaining supplies to the warehouse.
If you didn’t get a chance to support this effort yet, you can still donate while voting for your favorite chili this Sunday at The Table or donate directly on UMCOR’s website.
Join us this Sunday at The Table
You are invited to join us THIS SUNDAY at The Table on October 20th for a Fall-filled evening!
At 4:00pm join us for Games,
4:30p.m. Chili, Cornbread, and Cookie Competition! Vote with $, and the funds raised will go to UMCOR to Hurricane Relief. The winning Chili, Cornbread, and Cookie recipe will represent First UMC at the Giles County Chamber Chili Cook-Off on Thursday, November 7th.
At 5:00pm we will worship together. Join us as we praise God in community and joy!
Hey, Youth Families
The registration for the Youth Fall Retreat is now open! This year’s Fall Retreat will be held at Lakeshore Camp and Retreat Center in Eva, TN. We will be joining other United Methodist youth groups from the Tennessee Western-Kentucky Conference. The theme this year is the Greatest Commandment where we will learn and talk about how to love the Lord with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. It is guaranteed to be a great weekend filled with fun games, fellowship with other youth groups, and worship! The deadline to register is October 20th and the cost is $50. You won’t want to miss it!
When: November 8-10th
Where: Lakeshore Camp and Retreat Center in Eva, TN
Registration Deadline: October 20th
Cost: $50
Church Family, if you would like to volunteer to chaperone this trip, please contact Pastor Mark by emailing mark.mcgraw@student.austinseminary.edu or calling the church office at 931-363-2595.
Hey, Youth Seniors!
You are invited to join us for a new small group opportunity called Senioridous! November 6th at 6:30pm Life after high school can be difficult, exciting, confusing, and unclear all at once. Join us as we talk about the next stage of life, leaving behind high school and entering young adulthood. This is a program where High School Seniors will meet together as a group and with a mentor from our church family. Church Family, you are invited to begin praying if you would like to serve as a mentor for our High School Seniors.
What's Up With Wesley?
Thank you, Garner Family, for hosting Wesley for a bonfire this week! The students loved taking time away from school and work to enjoy an evening under the stars.
Wesley students are looking forward to October 29th - Boo-Out at UT Southern.
Join us for Fall Retreat
Nov 1st - 3rd is our Church-Wide Retreat at Beersheba Springs. The theme is Restore for Discipleship. We will hike, rest, chat, and eat good food (provided by Beersheba). The cost is $150 per room - but don’t let cost keep you from coming! There are scholarships available.
Community Garden
Thank you to everyone who helped picked veggies in the garden this week!
Halloween is lurking... Join us for...
Games & Chili at The Table - October 20th at 4pm
The Growing Tree Trick or Treat Around the Square - October 25th at 10am
Youth Halloween Party - October 27th from 5-7pm
Children’s Ministry Halloween Party - October 27th from 5-7pm
Theologian of the Month
Our Theologian of the Month for October is St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556). St. Ignatius is most known for being the founder of the Catholic movement known as the Society of Jesus—more commonly known as the Jesuits. In 1521, he was gravely wounded in a battle against the French. While he was recuperating, he read a biography about Jesus. St. Ignatius was converted to Christianity A year later, he made the decision to pursue the priesthood. At the altar where he re-devoted his life to Jesus, he laid down his noble vestments and his sword and put on an old tunic—symbolizing his transition from chivalrous warrior to follower of the Prince of Peace named Jesus. St. Ignatius is most known for creating the Daily Examen. The Daily Examen is a prayer in which one is invited to look throughout their day and give thanks. Give it a try throughout October and see what fruit is bears for your spiritual life. It goes like this: Prepare by finding a comfortable position. Grab a journal and a pen if you want to write it down. Start by making a list of anything and everything you are grateful for that day. It could be a simple as a hot cup of coffee, a good book, or your family. Walk through your day asking the Holy Spirit to highlight it clearly. Notice what stands out. What emotions or moments stand out to you? When did you feel close to God? When did you feel far away from God? Talk to God. What might God be trying to tell you about those moments? Ask for forgiveness for the times you weren’t at your best. Look forward to tomorrow. What are you excited about? What are you nervous about? Give all of those things to God and ask for God’s will be done. Close by taking a few moments of silence, seeking God’s voice and God’s peace.
Book of the Month
Our Book of the Month for October is Eugene Peterson’s The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways that Jesus is the Way. Many of us know Eugene Peterson as the great evangelical theologian who authored The Message interpretation of the Bible. In this book, Peterson shows how the ways of those who came before Jesus of Nazareth—Abraham, Moses, Davide, Elijah, and Isaiah—revealed and prepared the “way of the Lord” that became incarnate and complete in Jesus Christ. Throughout, Peterson calls into question the many “ways” followed by the contemporary American church, showing the stark relief how what we have chosen to focus on—consumerism, celebrity, charisma, and so forth—obliterates what is unique to the Jesus way. Here is an excerpt from the first chapter. “I want to counter the common reduction of ‘way’ to a road, a route, a line on a map—a line that we can use to find our way to eternal life; such reduction means the elimination of way as a metaphor, the reduction of way to a lifeless technology. The Way that is Jesus is not only the roads that Jesus walked in Galilee and to Jerusalem but also the way Jesus walked on those roads, the way he acted, felt, talked, gestured, prayed, healed, taught, and died. And the way of his resurrection. The Way that is Jesus cannot be reduced to information or instruction. The Way is a person whom we believe and follow as God-with-us.” This book is a must read for any who wish to follow the Jesus Way—the way of truth, mercy, compassion, hope, and life-giving love.
Opportunities to Serve
Circle of Care
Thursdays @ 9:00am in The Fellowship Hall
We need volunteers! Join Circle of Care in boxing & delivering hot meals to our neighbors.
Matthew 25 Thrift Shoppe
Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday 9am-3:15pm
Community RFD
Let us join RFD leaders and volunteers in prayer as they discern next steps.
RFD Food Collection
RFD (Rural Food Delivery) is collecting donations in The Fellowship Hall. The item of the month is canned soup & chili. Please drop off these & other non-perishable food items on the shelf in The Fellowship Hall.
Community RFD is a non-profit organization that provides boxes of food at no cost to struggling families in Giles County. Some of our congregants regularly volunteer with RFD.