Dr. Will Cotton will preach at the 9:40 and 11 am worship services this Sunday. Rev. Katie Meek will preach at the 8:30 am service. The Revelation Ringer Ensemble will be ringing at the sanctuary services.  The Source , our weekly devotional guide, is available on the church website .

Please join us in worship this Sunday at  8:30 am (Sanctuary), 9:40 am (FLC), or 11 am (Sanctuary). 

One of the reasons I love the month of May (or sometimes early June) is the celebration of all the graduations. At the end of the 11 am worship service this Sunday, we will recognize our graduating seniors and then host a banquet for them and their families in the Family Life Center. What a great moment, a celebratory one for the seniors and a bittersweet one for the parents (where did all those years go?) Some will begin their vocations while others will do more schooling, but new beginnings are most certainly happening, and no one knows where those beginnings will lead.

	Dr. Will Cotton

Over the past two weeks, I have noticed a lot of university graduations happening in our congregation.  What pride and relief I see on the parents' faces. On these young adult faces I see a mix of excitement and a little fear as they contemplate what their future may hold. This I know...in the hands of God, the future for all of them can be magnificent - not always easy or safe and certainly not predictable - but still a future full of the work of God in and through them.

I also like commencement because it is a reminder that it is never too late to begin a new chapter with God - to celebrate what has been, take what you have learned, and launch into a Spirit-led future.  My last scholastic commencement was my doctorate in 1996 at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, right next to the University of Texas. But there have been many God-directed commencements since then. In fact, I think I had one in 2016 as I began a new chapter of ministry with you as your senior pastor. A year ago next week, we purchased our home in Paloma Lake. We went to Annual Conference in Waco in June and met the Choral Union from First UMC, Round Rock and saw them fill the loft at the ordination service. It felt like commencement for us. I am so deeply honored to serve as senior pastor of this great Church. I am watching the seeds of amazing things ahead for us in ministry with each other and more importantly, in ministry with our surrounding area of Williamson County and north Austin. Those seeds may indeed become a commencement, a new beginning for us as a congregation.

See you Sunday, along with that friend, relative or neighbor that needs the love of our great faith community and a word of lasting hope.

Dr. Will Cotton

First Church enthusiastically accepted a challenge in the form of a $20K donation and quickly met that challenge in just two weeks by generously donating a total of $21,209.05. Kudos to everyone who has already contributed to the First Match Campaign. Let's keep the momentum going! How big of a bite can we take out of the total $106,700 need to address three critical areas: security, air conditioning, and care and preservation of our trees?  Last week we took an in-depth look at campus security and now we will turn our focus to tree care and preservation.

All you need to do is simply choose your amount, take an envelope, fill it and return the envelope!

"Rhythmic Rip" by John Behnke

Thank you! Your generosity at the 2017 POPS concert enabled us to donate $5508.15 to the First Church Backpack Project. 

Join First Church member and author, Catherine Bird, this summer for a special study in the Girls of Grace Bible study series,  Building Circles of Grace. For eight weeks, Catherine will encourage moms and daughters (tweens entering grades 5 - 7) as they explore what it means to build and sustain Christ-centered relationships with circles of grace...the relationships that we develop beyond our relationship with God. Some of the toughest experiences we encounter as young girls (and moms, too) are a result of the people we choose as friends.

This study will not be available in bookstores until August 2017, so moms and tween girls are in for a special treat with this early preview. Catherine has a few surprises along the way, including a copy of the new book when it is hot off the presses! Moms and tween girls will also have an opportunity to participate in exclusive launch activities leading up to the new book release. Space is limited, so register soon.

The classes will meet at 6:30 pm  on Tuesdays beginning June 6. The cost is $25 and registration is open. Moms should register themselves first. Information about your tween will follow. Click here to register.   

Camp Triumph is returning to our campus this summer for a sports camp.  There will be three sessions:

Early bird pricing ends  May 31 , so don't wait to register your child. Your child does not have to be in VBS to attend Camp Triumph! Click here for more information about Camp Triumph.

Matt Rawle sees Christ all around him and shares what he sees in his book, Hollywood Jesus. Sometimes movies tell a story of salvation, even if the context is not the Gospel story of Jesus. This study examines Jesus figures  in films such as Cool Hand Luke, The Lion King, The Truman Show, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Join this exploration of what happens when pop culture encounters the King of kings and the Lord of lords! 

Location and Time:  Sundays at 9:40 am in Bldg. 5-136. For more information, contact Rev. Dr. Beverly Jones ( beverly@fumc-rr.org ) or Debby Utley ( debbyfaeu@gmail.com ).  All are welcome. 

No pre-registration is needed. Just come! 

Come explore the question, "Why Did God Do It?" in a six week Bible Study. We will look at how science is confirming God's creation of the universe, the intricacies of created life, and how they point to God's love for us. Source book is "The Creator and The Cosmos" by Dr. Hugh Ross. Sessions will begin on Monday,  June 12, at 7 pm in Bldg. 5-127. It will  go through  July 31  with no session on  July 3 . 

To enroll, register online  or contact James Lehrmann at  jameslehrmann@sbcglobal.net .