FIRST UNITED
METHODIST CHURCH
Charge Conference, Circle of Care, Christmas Cantata, Thank You
FUMC Newsletter 10/23/24
WORSHIP
Topic: Lose & Gain
Speaker: Pastor Zach
Time: 10:00am
Also available on WKSR Radio 100.9 at 10am, YouTube & Facebook Live!
Verse of the Week:
Ephesians 4:31-32 “ Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.”
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Charge Conference is tonight at 6pm in The Sanctuary!
Circle of Care will serve their last meal to the community tomorrow. Thank you, Circle of Care, for all you have done.
We have selected a Christmas Cantata. If you would like to join the choir for Christmas, now is the time! Choir will meet next week at 6:30pm.
Thank you to everyone who helped out at The Table last Sunday and to Duncan Regen & Amber Brown, for painting our Blessing Box last week!
EVENTS
Today, 10/23
@6:00pm Charge Conference
Tomorrow, 10/24
@9:00am Circle of Care
@5:30pm Disciple Bible Study
Friday, 10/25
@10:00am Growing Tree Trick or Treat Around the Square
Saturday, 10/26
No Events
Sunday 10/27
@9:00am Sunday School
@10:00am Worship
@12:00pm Bible Beans
@3:00pm Blessing of the Animals at First Presbyterian Church
@5:00pm Youth Group Halloween Party
@5:00pm Children's Ministry Halloween Party
@7:00pm Theology on Tap
Monday 10/28
@8:15am Monday Morning Prayers
@3:30pm Social Talks
Tuesday 10/29
@7:30am UMW Goes to UMCOR
@5:00pm Wesley Boo-Out at UT Southern
@6:30pm Girl Talk
Let's Talk About The Table
Thank you to all who helped make Sunday's activities at The Table come to life! Attendees enjoyed games, chili, cornbread, cookies, music, communion, and remembering the value of relationships in our lives. A special thank you to our chefs including: Amy McGraw, Linda Mooney, Steve Arthur-Brothers, Ruby Harwell, Stephanie Garner, Daniel McMasters. Voting for their goods raised $112 for Hurricane Relief which is equivalent to 1+ Cleaning Bucket. First UMC will have a booth at the Chamber Chili Cook-off on Thursday, November 7, and volunteers are needed to engage & converse with guests, serve food, and share about the blessings of ministries happening through First UMC. Food served will be Daniel's chili, Steve's cornbread, and Stephanie's cookies! Talk to Rev. Laura to volunteer! Text 931-309-6156 or email
lauramcmasters@fumcpulaski.com
Halloween is lurking... Join us for...
The Growing Tree Trick or Treat Around the Square - October 25th at 10am
Youth Halloween Party - October 27th from 5-7pm in the Youth House
Children’s Ministry Halloween Party - October 27th from 5-7pm
Boo-Out at UT Southern - October 29th from 6-7:30pm at the Johnston Center
Election Day Prayer Vigil
Our sanctuary will be open for any who would like to come and pray before or after they cast their vote on Election Day, November 5th, 2024 between 8:00am and 4:00pm. Holy Communion will be available for any who would like to partake. During 11:00am and 1:00pm church staff will be available for any who would like someone to pray with them.
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?
This week's Wesley Gathering included making soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, plus preparing for Boo-Out at UTS.
Community Garden
Did someone say, "OKRA!"? The frost did NOT knock out the garden! Help yourself to Okra, Peppers, Cherry Tomatoes, and any other goodies you discover.
Blessing Boxes
Thank you, Duncan Regen & Amber Brown, for painting our Blessing Box last week! Want to give non-perishable food items or hygiene items to the Blessing Boxes? Here are a few options: Follow Blessing Boxes of Giles County, TN to learn which boxes need items Bring items to the Church Office to be distributed Make a monetary gift for items for the boxes to be purchased
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. Itinerary Below.
Beersheba Registration Link: https://forms.gle/cpEyVqF5o2vQkBsR9
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
Join Circle of Care in boxing & delivering hot meals to our neighbors for the last time.
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.