8/7/24

FUMC Newsletter 8/7/24

Topic: Brushing Our Teeth - Luke 2:22-38

Speaker: Rev. Zach Moffatt

Time: 10:00am

Also available on WKSR Radio 100.9 at 10:00am, YouTube & Facebook Live!

Announcements:

• The Fellowship Hall bathrooms are being painted. Thank you, trustees!

• Life Group Interest Meetings are being held on Sunday. If you are interested in joining, starting, or learning more about Life Groups, please attend!

• Thank you to Alicia Gordon for leading Nursing Home Worship on Monday! We are so glad to be able to continue this ministry.

Verse of the Week:

Psalm 118:24 “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Events:

8/7

No Social Talks

5:30pm Discernment Team Meeting

8/8

None

8/9

None

8/10

None

8/11

@9:00 Sunday School

@10:00 Worship

@12:00 Life Group Interest Meeting

@5:00 Youth/Parent Night

8/12

@8:15 Monday Morning Prayers

@10:00 Prayer Shawl

@4:00 Bible Beans Starts Back!

@5:00 Finance Committee

@5:35 Church Council

8/13

@9:00 Coffee with the Pastor

@6:30 Work in the Garden

8/14

@5:30 Social Talks Starts Back

Theologian of the Month

Our first Theologian of the Month is none other than Rev. John Wesley (1703-1791). Wesley is most famous for founding the Methodist movement in England in the mid to late 1700s. While Wesley is known for writing thousands of documents in his lifetime including sermons, letters, articles, and even books, three of his most famous teachings continue to influence theologians and Christians today. 1) Christianity is not an individual religion. Wesley firmly believed you cannot be a Christian on your own. Wesley once said we are to grow in “social holiness.” Which leads us to number 2. 2) Wesley taught that our main duty as disciples is to love God and love our neighbor. Wesley believed in a practical theology. If our theology doesn’t lead us to love, we must rethink it. 

              The Methodists put love into action by building hospitals in mining towns, schools in rural areas, and orphanages in cities. Wesley called on Methodists to oppose slavery, long before the abolition movement in England or the Americas took hold. Wesley called on Methodist to abstain from alcohol, not because drinking alcohol is sinful, but because the more alcohol that was consumed, the higher the grain prices went up, which led to more expensive bread. In fact, Wesley told all of the Methodist societies that we must follow 3 General Rules: Do No Harm, Do Good, and Attend Upon the Ordinances of God. Wesley was notorious for teaching that faith is about connecting the head and heart.

               True belief isn’t shown by simply uttering creeds, but by living the way of holy love. 3) Wesley believed in a life-long process for salvation. Known now as the 3 experiences of grace, Wesley taught about God’s Prevenient, Justifying, and Sanctifying grace. Prevenient grace leads us to God. Justifying grace is us responding to God’s grace through Jesus Christ. Sanctifying is the work of discipleship, where we grow in God’s grace and mercy, deepening our trust in God’s goodness and love. Throughout our life, Wesley believed we could be made perfect in love—not on our own, but by grace—where God’s love is shed abroad in our hearts to where we “perfected in love.” As he writes in his sermon entitled “Scripture Way of Salvation,” “So that the salvation which is here spoken of might be extended to the entire work of God, from the first dawning of grace in the soul till it is consummated in glory.”

Book of the Month

Our first Book of the Month is Good and Beautiful and Kind: Becoming Whole in a Fractured World. A simple, yet soul healing read, Pastor Rich Villodas tackles a problem we all have dealt with. He writes, “Hostility, rage, and offense is the language of our culture. How did we lose goodness, kindness, and beauty? And more important, how do we get back to them into our lives.” Throughout this book, Villodas weaves stories from his time as a pastor and the wisdom of the saints of our faith, into providing practical steps in how we embrace what God intends for all of creation: to live a life of goodness, kindness, and beauty.

What's Growing On?

The Community Garden is still thriving thanks to the work of our dedicated volunteers. It has even attracted some attention from local wildlife! Last week this cute groundhog was discovered living under the Youth House AC Unit and snacking on our fruits and veggies. The Garden Team named him Buccee and safely relocated him to a local farm.

Blessing Boxes

Last Wednesday

Last Wednesday night, July 31st, 9 people met together at The Table to assemble a Blessing Box. The box was made using reclaimed wood from multiple pallets and a large bookshelf - which the crew disassembled that night. The crew then followed instructions created by Amber Brown (the same lovely lady who installed our Sunday School Floors) to make the box you see above. We are so blessed to have talented, passionate people in our community to work with! Thank you to all our volunteers for your help! More info to come.

Why Blessing Boxes?

Blessing Boxes provide an opportunity for those in need to get food 24/7 - instead of having to rely on services that are only open a few times a week or during regular business hours when people are working. They hope that these blessing boxes may help alleviate hunger or necessity caused by shame. People who may not be comfortable asking for help may be more likely to take from a Blessing Box than go to a food bank.

Hey Youth Families!

On August 11th, from 5-7 pm, you are invited to join us for our parent night/meeting where we go over the important information of the fall season to kick off the new school year. Here, we will fellowship with one another, compete against the youth with some games, share a meal, and learn more about the Youth Ministry at Pulaski First UMC. We hope to see you there!

Opportunities to Serve:

Prayer Shawl August 12th @ 10:00am in The Fellowship Hall Participants will meet to make prayer shawls for members of the congregation and community.

Nursing Home Worship September 2nd @ 9:30am Join Alicia Gordon and Pastor Zach as they travel to local nursing homes to lead songs and lift up the elderly members of our community. Meet in the Fellowship Hall at 9:00am to participate.

Circle of Care Thursdays @ 9:00am in The Fellowship Hall Join Circle of Care in boxing & delivering hot meals to our neighbors. Anyone is welcome to show up and serve! No commitment required.

RFD Food Collection

RFD (Rural Food Delivery) is collecting donations in The Fellowship Hall. The item of the month is dried pasta & spaghetti. Please drop off pasta & spaghetti & 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.