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Growing Deep Roots to Share God's Love
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In this edition, you won't want to miss these stories:
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It'd be crazy for a lamb to walk into the middle of a pack of wolves. No defenses, no weapons, no discernible way to defend itself from the fangs waiting to devour it, and yet the lamb overcomes. In scripture this week, we'll see how Jesus sends out 70 disciples who find the same mysterious power over evil, never turning to tools of evil. The story begs us to ask the question, "To overcome evil, how much are we trusting in God?"
We invite you to review the following scripture verse ahead of time:
Luke 10:1-24.
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Feedback on the sermon series? What new information have you learned? We'd love to hear from you.
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July 31
Chapter 29: "Lambs and Wolves"
August 7
Chapter 30: "
The Stories of the Lost"
August 14
Chapter 31: "
A Tale of Two Silos"
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UPCOMING EVENTS
July 27-31
Creekwood Middle School Mission Trip
July 31
Final Candidate for the Youth Ministry Director Position Will Visit The Rise and Youth Sunday School
August 1-5
"Travel Adventure" Themed Creekwood Preschool/1st Grade Summer Camp
August 7
August 14
Back to School Prayer Walk 3:00 p.m., Prayer Service 4:00 p.m., Ice Cream Social 4:30 p.m.
August 18
Pledge Capital Campaign Charge Conference, 6:30 p.m., Worship Center
August 21
Blessing of the Teachers and Backpacks, All Services
Habitat for Humanity First Time Volunteers Training, 11:30 a.m., Worship Center
Lunch With the Pastors For New Attendees Wishing to Join Our Church, 12:30 p.m., Worship Center
Sunday School and Small Group Sign Ups; Most Classes Will Start Mid-September
August 24
Family Promise First Time Volunteer Training, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m., Worship Center
August 28
Official launch of Creekwood Special Needs Ministry
August 29 - September 4
Family Promise Hosting at Student Center
September 5
Labor Day, Church Office Closed
September 11 & September 18
Harper's Helpers Training for First Time Volunteers, 11:30 a.m., Worship Center
September 17
Creekwood Habitat for Humanity Build
October 29
Creekwood Habitat for Humanity Build
Note: Church office will be closed on Fridays during summer months starting June 24 through July 29.
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 Volunteer Highlight
There are many, many volunteers working behind the scenes at Creekwood, and we love to share stories of how people are giving so
graciously of their time and talent. Over the summer as you see our volunteers in action, please share what you're seeing and who you think needs to be our next highlight. Click here to share. We start back our highlights in September.
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 Prayer Walk for Schools
If you were with us this time last year, you may remember we were just wrapping up a deep discussion on the power of prayer. And, you may recall we held our first ever Back to School Prayer Walk. So many participated in this important program and we're pleased to report it'll happen again this year.
We believe there is power in prayer in a purposeful group setting.
We're focusing on the east Allen and Lovejoy schools, as well as Harper Elementary. Groups will physically walk the school grounds and pray for blessings for the upcoming school year. Want to be a part of it? Beginning this Sunday, you'll find large chalkboards up in the Gathering Area listing the schools. Simply sign your name under your chosen school.
The prayer walks will take place at 3 p.m. on Sunday, August 14. We'll regroup at the Worship Center at 4 p.m. for a prayer service and will then have an ice cream social at 4:30 p.m. like you've never seen before. Trust us.
We're encouraging everyone to participate in this special event as we prepare for the 2016/2017 school year and ask for God's blessing.
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Charge Conference
We're pleased to report that y
esterday our Church Council voted in favor of holding a Charge Conference to facilitate a vote on the commencement of a pledge capital campaign. As we discussed last week, it is
dictated by the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist church that members of our church come together to vote on the commencement of a pledge capital campaign. In our case, this is a proposed campaign to raise funds for a
new Children's & Adult Ministries building and for the renovation of the existing Children's Center to support our Youth Ministry.
The Charge Conference will be held Thursday, August 18, at 6:30 p.m. Members and non-members are welcome to attend; but, per the Book of Discipline, only members can vote. We are required to have at least 50% of those in attendance at the Charge Conference to vote in favor of the commencement of the campaign in order to proceed. Your vote matters. Plan to join us on August 18.
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We're Sprucing Up!
Beginning in early August, you might notice some minor
renovations around the Worship Center and Student Center. Thanks to some generous donations and funds received through the sale of land for the Stacy Road project that are, per the Book of Discipline and our capital financing rules, required to be used for capital improvements, we're going to be doing some sprucing up in order to refresh the two buildings to better meet needs assessed by our Healthy Church Initiative and Youth Teams. The goal is to better improve our hospitality and information sharing, as well as provide the students with an improved facility to better suit the required atmosphere.
What can you expect? Watch for updates to the porch, which will include rockers for visiting with others or simply reflecting. Framed photography will be hung in the hallways featuring the personality
and vision
of our congregation. The information desk will be relocated to a more visible location, and other changes to the Gathering Area include new furniture conducive to conversation and short meetings, and a second coffee station. Our children's hallway will be updated with additional framed photography and chalkboard walls are going up. We'll also get some updated finishes in the Worship Center, including reclaimed wood behind the choir and praise band areas.
In the Student Center, you can expect a more open layout to better suit the current size, atmosphere, and scope of our Elevate Student Ministries program, as well as to support special gatherings of other groups. We should note that we will still be able to host Family Promise during the renovation.
We invite you to join us in thanking our dedicated Board of Trustees for working so diligently on the needs assessment and resulting plans that we'll see put into action over the month of August to facilitate our goal of growing deep roots to share God's love here at Creekwood.
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2016-2017 Gridiron Kickoff
We invite you to join us at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday,
August 7, for the 2016-2017 Gridiron Kickoff, a
Creekwood tradition you won't want to miss. Let's talk football!
Come hear from our new high school head coaches - Allen's Terry Gambill and Lovejoy's Todd
Ford.
Dinner will be provided. Pastor David will be facilitating a Q & A. (Submit your possible questions
here
.) There will also be a fun, interactive game sure to get us all football ready! Plan to attend and bring a friend!
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Join Our Team
Looking for a fun way to get some exercise and
an opportunity for fellowship? We're forming a Creekwood coed soccer team and both a men's and a
coed softball team. The leagues will start the end of August. Watch for sign ups to begin shortly. Contact Pastor David with any questions. Come play with us!
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Creekwood Choir to Tour London, England
May 22-30, 2017
Deadline to register is Sunday, July 31
The Creekwood Choir at Creekwood UMC is planning a tour of London, England in May 2017, and you are invited to join us! The ensemble will fly non-stop from DFW to London Heathrow then tour Stratford-upon-Avon, Oxford, Coventry, Bath and Warwick. The choir will perform at the Wesley Chapel, the site of Wesley House. You do not need to be a singing member of the choir to participate in this trip. All arrangements for the trip such as airline, ground transportation, hotels and performances are being handled by US Integrity Touring Co.
For more information contact Mike Crawford at
mjcrawford5746@verizon.net
or 214-728-9452.
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Next Habitat Build 8/27 and 9/24
Creekwood's next Habitat for Humanity build will be in Princeton to
coincide with
the work we are doing at Harper Elementary and in the surrounding community. In fact, we're building this next home adjacent to a home we worked on in 2015 for the Arps family.
We'll be working on a home for Sandy Escamilla and her three beautiful children.
A native of McKinney, Sandy is thrilled to become a Habitat homeowner. She was born and raised right here in North Collin County, and graduated  from McKinney High School in 2001.
For the past four years, Sandy has been working at Mediquip in McKinney where she assists with inventory intake, shipping, and processing. She
started the Habitat process when a former co-worker told her about the program. For her, getting to move into a home of her own will be an incredible blessing after many long years of struggle which began in high school. During that time, Sandy's parents divorced and her mother was left to care for five children on her own. Being the second oldest, Sandy worked two jobs before and after school in order to help her mother pay the bills. Since that time, Sandy feels like she has been on a long journey. She is so thankful for this opportunity, and feels like moving into her Habitat home will be a huge step in the right direction. We're blessed to have the opportunity to help her make this huge step.
Build days are
Saturday, September 17 and Saturday, October 29 from approximately 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. We need 20-25 builders each day, and we need volunteers to provide lunch and water. Please email
email Lyndsey Lessner
call/text 404-797-5072 to sign up. We'll hold a training for all first time Habitat volunteers on Sunday, August 21, at 11:30 a.m. in the Worship Center. We invite you to join us in helping make a home for Sandy and her children.
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Building Faith
Brick by Brick
We're continuing with the "Building Faith Brick By Brick" curriculum through August. The Explorers have been enjoying interactive lessons that help kids experience the wonder and adventure of the Bible via Legos! Have your kiddos join us at the 9:00 or 10:15 worship hours for some educational, inspiration Lego building! The program is designed for Kindergarten through 4th graders. See you Sunday!
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Happy Summer Break!
The Children's Choir is dismissed for the summer. We'll see you back in September.
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Have an infant through 4th grader and not currently receiving our weekly Children's Ministries' newsletter, Explorers' Times? Please
email us to be added to our distribution list.
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If your youth isn't already plugged into a weekly small group (7th - 10th graders) or life group (11th/12th graders), please contact Eric Jones to learn more about these life-changing groups.
LiGht (Living in God's House Together)
Sunday school is held each Sunday from 10:15 - 11:15 a.m. in the Lovejoy Gym. All 5th - 12th graders are welcomed and encouraged to attend.
Join us for
T
he Rise
Sunday evenings from 5 - 7 p.m. in the Worship Center. We'll have dinner ($5), worship, hear inspirational messages and have small group breakouts. This Sunday, o
ur final candidate, Mark Jones, interviewing to lead
our Youth Ministry will be at both Sunday school and The Rise. Everyone is invited to join us to get to know Mark better.
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BASIC Middle School Summer Bible Study
Our summer middle school Bible study is now meeting! You can find us in the
Worship Center at 6:30 on Tuesdays. All middle schoolers are welcome to join us for study and fellowship. We are studying the Gospel of John.
Summer Bible Study Tuesdays:
August 2, 9, 16
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Have a 7th - 12th grader and not currently receiving our weekly Youth Ministries' newsletter? Please
email us to be added to our distribution list.
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See what is happening on our Creekwood social sites.
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