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God desires FFUMC to be an intentional, vibrant,  growing faith community transformed through prayer, scripture, worship, and study.

 

ffumclogo God wants us to make a real difference in the lives of our neighbors  and each other as we  invite, accept, connect,  serve,  and share the love of Christ.  
Issue: 43
November 15, 2017
In This Issue
Church-wide Christmas Celebration
UMW Christmas Dinner
Greeters & Ushers
JOY Upcoming Events
Happy Birthday!
Community Thanksgiving Service
Holiday Schedule
Care & Prayer Concerns
Quick Links
Today is the last
to order!

Purchase your 10th Anniversary CCD  T-Shirts using the below link!
 
To commemorate the tenth anniversary of Christmas Community Day, we are offering a special T-shirt designed by Tara Mallison.

You must place your order today using this link .
 
The cost of the T-shirt is $11-14 depending on the size of our order, payable when you pick up the T-shirt. You do not need to have a special 
T-shirt to volunteer at CCD. We will provide volunteer nametags with our logo. This is an option for those who are interested. 
Saturday, December 9th
9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Click here  to register.
Church-wide Christmas Celebration
December 13 at  5:45 p.m.

Don't miss out on our third annual Church-wide Christmas Celebration! We'll have dinner, music, and a pageant so awesome and fun that you'll want to bring everyone you know! This event is open to all ages!

Click here to register.
 Thank you!
Our Wesley's Attic Children's Clothing Ministry wishes to thank our loving congregation for their generous donations Wesley's Attic during "Undies Sundays"  in October. Our children's Sunday School classes also contributed, and the 4th and 5th grade classes won a dozen donuts for their best efforts.  Thank for helping clothe children in need.
United Methodist Women (UMW)
UMW UMW annual Christmas dinner will be held at Puelos on December 8th at 6:00 p.m.This is open to all ladies of the church and we would love for you to attend. It is a fun evening of fellowship and perhaps getting to know some of our newer members. Please RSVP by December 3rd to Judy Westenhaver or Judy Bensey or stop by the information desk. Mark your calendars now and we look forward to seeing you. 
Youth

United Methodist  Youth Fellowship   (UMYF)

Community Thanksgiving Service - November 19 at 6:00 p.m.
CCD Shopping Event - November 26
Resurrection - January 19-21, 2018
Questions, email   Chuck Powell.

NEW Senior Mobile  Meals Coordinator
Kerri White has stepped up to be our new Senior Mobile Meals Coordinator.  Thanks to Kerri we will be able to continue this important ministry  into 2018.

Sunday, November 12, 2017
Information Desk :
9:00 a.m. -- Necia Carter
10:00 a.m. -- Gail Duncan

Greeters:
9:00 a.m. -- Betty Collins & Gail Hulme
11:00 a.m. -- Okon & Robbeline Enyenihi

Ushers:
9:00 a.m. -- Doug Hulme, Calvin Harris,
& Alvin Jenkins
11:00 a.m. -- Todd Bocik, Robin Herrington,
& Ryan Reddick
Upcoming Events
 
Friday -  Guatemala Trip presentation by Clark Brekke at 7:00 p.m. in the conference room at church.

Friday, December 15  - Annual JOY GALA CHRISTMAS DINNER at Fox Den Country Club at 6:30 p.m.
 
This event is always a very special evening of wonderful fellowship, great food, and fun!
 
Our dinner will include:
Your choice of three entrees will be accompanied by a house salad, rolls and butter, French petite green beans with a julienne of red onions and carrots, whipped potatoes or rice pilaf (chef's choice), and dessert of apple cobbler with a scoop of ice cream, and tea and coffee service.  Gratuity is included.
 
Entree choices:
  1. sauteed chicken breast with Florentine sauce
  2. traditional turkey dinner with cornbread dressing, duo of whipped sweet and Idaho potatoes and cranberry sauce
  3. rosemary roasted pork tenderloin topped with a red onion and cranberry chutney
Price is $32.00 per person.
 
PLEASE RSVP no later than SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3 with check payable to FFUMC. **  Note choice of entree for each person on check. 

 **GIVE checks to Anita Oberdecker or MAIL to her at 11112 Joiner Way, Knoxville, TN 37934.
 
Please DO NOT put checks in the offering plate.
Church Safety and Security Awareness Presentation
Join us Sunday, December 10, at 
9:00 a.m. or 11:00 a.m. in the Music Room 210 for the presentation.
birthday-banner-yellow.gif
Congratulations to the following 
who will have birthdays this week!

November:
            15 -  Kathy Cleveland
                     Susan Lancaster
            16 -  Scott Milliken
      17 - Tracy Houser
      19 - Pastor Don Thomas
      20 - Debbie Allen
      21 - Lara Burn
              Tessa Burch-Smith
              John Matson
NEW RESOURCES
First Farragut UMC's Footprints Ministry serves  as a bridge to connect church and home. Click  here  for our current recommendations.

FINANCIAL PULSE
As of September 30, 2017:

YTD Total Contributions:     $427,031.78
YTD Total Expenses:             $416,541.59
YTD Net Operating Total:     $10,409.19
YTD Total "FTF" Gifts:          $72,676.00
   (Forward to Freedom)
Attention Kroger Shoppers!
Don't forget to re-enroll!
  If you shop at Kroger, please click here to visit the Kroger Community Rewards secure website and click on "Enroll" to register your individual Kroger Plus card to First Farragut UMC's account 
(# 84417).  
 
We received $152.18 from your shopping last quarter!

 
The Power of a Word

With Thanksgiving soon approaching and the beginning of Advent-Christmas not long after, I think of the story of the man who was extraordinarily popular. He was asked, "What is your secret?" He went on to explain the power of a single word.

He said that for years when someone made a statement about which he disagreed, he always responded, "Baloney." He said he came to realize that people avoided him like the plague. Then he made a discovery. When people said something about which he disagreed, he began to say, "Amazing!' Then people were drawn to him.

"Amazing" is how I characterize your response to the  
"I'm in..." appeal. You bless FFUMC with your gifts of financial resources, and the best of yourself.

I look forward to Advent and Christmas worship, Christmas Community Day, Breakfast with Santa...all the joys you make possible by your response to Christ.

Words do have power. My prayer is that all who come and go through our front doors in the days ahead will say, "Amazing!"

In Christ,
Don

Regarding Advent and Christmas worship, please remember and help others know that through December we have one service 
at 10:00 a.m. 

Sunday School classes will adjust their meeting time as each decides. You must contact Paige Morgan if childcare is needed. 

Please know this: our Trustees have been proactive in developing a Security Policy and Emergency Procedure protocol. It has been in place for some months now. It is imperative that more people are aware of these plans.  On Sunday, December 10th , we will have two information sessions around the 10:00 a.m. service. 
The sessions will be at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. in the Music Room 210 .  Please attend one of these sessions to hear and understand our safety and security protocols.  


Community Thanksgiving Service
6:00 p.m. on Sunday 
10th Annual Christmas Community Day
December 3rd from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.


The final CCD Team Leaders Meeting is this Sunday, November 19, at noon in the Conference Room. Whether this is your 10th or 1st CCD, you are welcome! 
Please join us!

A New Look for Christmas Community Day

The 10th Anniversary edition of CCD will feature several "new twists" to enhance the experience for our guests. The Christmas meal has become the Christmas Café where guests can drop in anytime during their visit. The menu will feature sandwiches and kid-friendly foods. Volunteers who help set-up after the 10:00 a.m. service are invited to have lunch in the Café between 11:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.  There will be no Volunteer Break Room during the event, but volunteers can drop into the Café anytime for a drink or a bite to eat. The Cafe will be in half the sanctuary and Wesley's Attic will be in the other half. Coats and shoes will be in the choir room, so all the clothing is located at one end of the building. And like before, Children's Centers (Photos with Santa, Books, and Gifts) will be located at the other end of the building to improve traffic flow. 
The Prayer Center will be very accessible in the library. CCD is a family-friendly Christmas ministry of First Farragut UMC. Everyone is welcome!

A new Center is Volunteer Desserts. We need 400 desserts (pies, cupcakes, cookies) to serve on carts in the Christmas Café.  Please sign up at the Missions table or on Realm  to provide a dessert, or to help in any of the centers.

Donate Necessities : Please take a post-it from the CCD Donation Request bulletin board  on Main Street or visit  our Amazon Smile  "FFUMC CCD 2017" Wish List.

Donate Toys and Gift Bags : Gift bags also needed, especially medium and large bags.  You can also visit our Amazon Smile "FFUMC CCD 2017" Wish List   to donate toys.

Donate Books or McKay's book credit slips :  We need your help sorting children's books by age and genre! Please join us in the library TOMORROW from 3:30-5:30 p.m. 

Donate Gently Used Coats, Hats, or Mittens :  Drop off in collection box for coats.
 
If you would prefer to make a monetary donation, please mark 
CCD on your check and place in offering plate on Sunday morning. CCD is funded by the Rita Hommel Endowment and your generous contributions.
   
Volunteer:  Sign-up sheets will be available on Sunday on the Missions table. If you have any questions, contact  Laura Derr .
Holiday Schedule
The office will be closed on Wednesday, November 22. 
Angel Tree

The Angel Tree is on Main Street once again!  The recipients of the gifts are students at the Wesley House after-school program or siblings of participants. The angels numbered less than 100 are "clothing" angels and those above 100 are "toy" angels. Please take an angel(s) from the tree and purchase the requested gift. There is no need to fulfill every wish.  The angel can be used as a gift tag on the wrapped gift. Signing the gift list in the book allows for contact if there is a problem with a gift. All presents are due back to the church by Sunday, December 10th. 

Wesley House will pick up the gifts on December 13th. If you have any questions, please email Ondie Reese or contact her at (865) 719-2319 or (865) 909-9301 .
      
CHILDREN

                 
  
Sign up for Breakfast with Santa  online!
 
 
 
Want to be "in the loop" on all Children's Wing activities? 
Be sure to join our Facebook group (FFUMC Children's Ministry)!
FISH Christmas Cards

Beginning Sunday, FISH Christmas Cards will be available on Main Street. These cards cost $5 each and benefit the FISH Hospitality Pantries in Knoxville. $5 feeds a family of four for three days. The FISH Pantries support our West Knox FISH Pantry and our Christmas Community Day ministries with free bread. FISH Christmas cards are the major annual fundraiser for the Hospitality Pantries.  Give the real gift of Christmas this year!
Sunday School during December

Faithful - Christmas Through the Eyes of Joseph
The Connexion Sunday School class will be meeting at 9:00 a.m.  in the conference room each Sunday in December. We will be using this Advent Series by Adam Hamilton. All are welcome to join us as we look at Christmas from a new perspective.

Project Blue Light
Please join us in honoring the fallen officers and those officers on duty in our community. There will be a Project Blue Light program on Saturday, December 9, at 6 p.m. There will be a special presentation by the local K-9 officer and his partner and the reading of the officer's prayer. 

If you would like to help, contact Marilyn Halas (931) 210-3782 
or Sabrina Gunderson at (931) 210-0292. Keep all of the officer's families and departments in your prayers especially during this holiday season. 
School Kits, Hygiene Kits, and Cleaning Kits
Thanks for your generous response to recent UMCOR and Holston Conference appeals for disaster relief kits. On November 13 we delivered 8 cleaning kits, 12 hygiene kits, and 16 School kits to Oak Ridge District office. They will be shipped to those in need. Your in-kind donations have an approximate value of $938, not including the cash donations you already made this fall for disaster relief. Thank you, First Farragut!
The Serving Team
Care and 
Prayer 
Concerns

Please remember the following  care 
and prayer concerns  this week:
  • Christian Missionaries Everywhere
  • Karen Blazer
  • Tom Butcher (cancer, Sandy Noble's former boss)
  • Lee Collins
  • Marvin Combs (friend of Barb Collins)
  • Lisa Davis (brain cancer, friend of Carrie Linn's)
  • Cindy Daugherty Galyon  
  • John Griffith (home)
  • Jerry Halas (heart problems, Marilyn Halas' husband)
  • J.T. Hankins (at home with PT)
  • John Hankins (late stage colon cancer)
  • Charlie Helms (home)
  • Kenneth Henderson (Parkinson, Marilyn Halas' father)
  • David Johnson, Jr. (end stage COPD, father of Jan Sangid Ghorashi)
  • Kris Lane (son-in-law of Steve & Jeanette Krupski)
  • Cheryl Lewis & Family (radiation and chemo, friend of Harden Family and daughter of Norma Jean Melcher)
  • Brenda Lounsbury & Family (death of father)
  • Calista Mallison (niece of Tyler & Tara Mallison)
  • La Gonda & Lee Mapes (La Gonda's uncle, dementia-Ben Atchley State Veteran's Home )
  • Norma Jean Melcher (serious kidney issues, mother of Cheryl Lewis)  
  • Morgan Phillips (congestive heart failure, Sarah Roberto's brother) 
  • Tyler Pritchard & Family  (Tyler is hospitalized with serious injuries, Tara Mallison's cousin)
  • Bill & Sherry Purdy (friends of Alvin Jenkins)
  • Michael Rainwater
  • Jolanda Rice (cancer, mother of Jeanette Krupski)
  • Sarah Roberto (recovering at home )
  • Judith Russell (former FFUMC member)
  • Randy Sedlacek (hospice, Jodie Petersen's father)
  • Melody Schwab (breast cancer, friend of Jean Fowler)

  •  Lissette Tant & Family (death of Lissette's father, Jose Zepeda) 

  • Jimmy Taylor ( Clinical Research Participation)
  • Becky Luther Tannehill (breast cancer, Carrie Linn's aunt) 
  • Trecia Walters (Mark Overbay's cousin)
  • Jason Yarbrough ( recovering at home from ACL surgery)
  • Michael & Janine Zaiser (Michael will be deployed soon; Janine is expecting third child in March; their twins are 2 1/2 years old; Michael is nephew of John & Brandi Matson)
  • Military Personnel & their families  
Intermediate and long-term concerns 
are held in prayer daily through our 
prayer chain and prayer groups.
If you have a prayer concern, 
please contact 
the church office  at 966-8430 or admin@ffumc.org.
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