First Church News & Updates - November 2, 2018
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How did it get to be November already? Halloween is behind us and Thanksgiving and Advent are just ahead. Take a moment to enjoy this day.
Don't forget...Daylight Saving Time ends this Sunday. Set your clock back one hour.
Enjoy this First Church E-News.
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Vision 2025 - Experience Love. Spread Hope.
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Sermon: "Present and Accounted For"
Dr. Will Cotton will be preaching at the 9:40 and 11 am services. Rev. David Johnson will preach at 8:30 am. We will be celebrating Holy Communion at all services.
In addition, it is
All Saints' Sunday...a special day in the life of the church. We will remember those in our church family who have died and graduated to the church triumphant this year, and we offer the opportunity for you to remember those in your life who have done the same.
Please join us in worship this weekend. The 8:30 and 11 am services will be in the Sanctuary. The 9:40 am service will be in the Family Life Center.
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Words from Will...
"Will you uphold the church with your prayers, your presence…”
A favorite Michael W. Smith song sings,
“I will be here for you, somewhere in the night.”
The ministry of God’s presence with us, our presence with each other and our congregation’s presence with the community is powerful and transforming.
After our prayer emphasis last week, a few of you said, “We have to do more than pray.” I agree as it was only the first of five dimensions in fully following Christ. Prayer (what some call the vertical relationship between us and God) will properly drive us to healthy relationship with people (the horizontal relationship) - to presence.
When people are hurting and grieving our most important ministry is not our words or our gifts, it is our caring presence where we sit or walk alongside people. When people are excited and celebrating, the chance to share that with people who care about you only increases the joy and satisfaction. We often are urged to quickly move from Prayer to Action, but the more powerful move may be from Prayer to Relationship, particularly as we do so with people who differ with us philosophically, culturally, and politically.
I remember seeing a sign that read, “CH__CH. What’s Missing? UR.” The Church is not an institution of buildings and programs, it is a God-filled movement of people who are fully present to God and to each other. As we gather to celebrate
“All Saints Sunday,”
I will be thanking God for people who were present for me, and I am forever blessed and changed because of them. We really do make that much of a difference to each other. I look forward to your presence, this Sunday.
Sincerely in Christ,
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Dr. Will Cotton
Senior Pastor
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Year to date Revenue: $1,762,743.65
Year to date Expenses: $1,866,527.83
2018 Budget: $2,481,067.63
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Did you know you can support First Church by shopping?
AmazonSmile has donated over $100 million to charities thanks to customers shopping at smile.amazon.com.
To celebrate, AmazonSmile is donating 5% (ten times the usual amount) to First United Methodist Church of Round Rock when you shop at smile.amazon.com/ch/23-7357868 through November 2.
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When God Moves - A Faith Look at Fall Festival
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Part of
Vision 2025
is finding key times when we invite people onto our campus to build relationships that will eventually lead to participation in our congregation. No single event accomplishes that, but multiple events with an intentional inviting and welcoming strategy do make some surprising inroads. None of us were prepared for the crowd of people who came to this year’s Fall Festival. Maybe we should have been. After all, we have been building greater partnerships with area schools (led by our Backpack Coalition and Student Ministry). Those schools are allowing us to make fliers available to students and their families. We increased our social media presence and people were telling us very early that they would be here. We continue our wonderful relationship with Council Oak Pre-School and those families also strongly participated. But we did not know that the Y had decided not to host an event and referred them in our direction and that there was no major event that day at Dell Diamond. So here is what we have watched as participation: 1,070 (2016), 1760 (2017) and then 4,739 (2018)! The weather has been good for all three years. People might have come through two entrances and been double counted in all three years. But everybody present knows that this event is rapidly growing.
It was a night when we looked more like Greater Round Rock: lots of young families, culturally diverse. It was a time when First Church hospitality was beautiful to behold. It was an event in which our various ministries all came together to make a large impact in the name of Christ. We were mission-minded and focused, and God used us more than we expected. I truly believe God gave us an early glimpse of who we can become as we follow Christ into our next chapter together, a glimpse of Vision 2025 actualized.
Special thanks to our Children’s and Student Ministries for anchoring this effort. But the larger list of leading participants would more than fill another couple of articles. I think God was smiling Sunday evening as if to say,
“They get it. They are loving on the community around them and in that I am well pleased.”
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Upcoming Churchwide Events
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Honoring those who served...
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The
Kids For Christ Council is a task force of parents interested in serving in the areas of children’s programming along with the Children’s Ministries Team. The next KFC meeting will be
Sunday, November 4, at 11:15 am in
Bldg. 5-122. We invite new members to join our council and would like you to prayerfully consider participating in this important part of Children’s Ministry. Please join us or call the church office for more information. Contact the church office at (512) 255-3336, ext. 128 or children@fumc-rr.org.
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This coming Sunday, our
IGNITE Sunday night experience is going to be led by our students! We are so excited to see our students step up into leadership and lead this worship event. Merging our High School and Middle School students, the worship experience will feature our youth band, as well as announcements and messages from our students.
If any parents would like to come and be part of this special night, you are more than welcome!
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UMW Lydia Circle is hosting a special guest on November 13
Marion Jones, the Olympic champion and gold medal runner, is coming to the UMW Lydia Circle on November 13. It is a salad supper to start at 6 pm in Payne Cottage. Please bring a salad to share. Marion will speak right after the meal. The meeting is open to all women of the church and any guest you might like to bring. To help us plan for seating, please RSVP to Patti Ruth at 512-944-5339 or pjruth1@gmail.com.
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New Grief Support Group begins on Sunday, November 25 at 5 pm
If you've lost someone and are struggling with grief, join us for
GriefShare, a 12 week curriculum which helps you walk through this difficult experience. Each session is an hour and a half and includes video and discussion. Don't go through your grieving alone. Sign up on the
website or call Rae at 512-255-3336 if you want more information.
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Children's Mission News
In September and October, Children’s Ministry purchased 29 pairs of Shoes for an amazing mission,
The Shoe that Grows, which provides shoes for needy children. These shoes will be able to grow up to five sizes, extending the length of the life of the shoes. Congratulations on your great efforts.
In November and December, our mission is
Happy Birthdays. Every child deserves a birthday celebration! There are children in foster care and homeless children in Central Texas whose special day passes each year without being recognized. The goal of the Happy Birthdays organization is to bring a little birthday joy to as many children as possible.
Click to read more about how our children can participate in this mission. As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, let’s provide supplies for other children to celebrate birthdays too!
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Mission Panama 2019 - June 22-30, 2019
Our next Mission Panama trip is on the calendar! If you're interested in getting more information about this life-changing ministry, join us for an informational meeting on
Sunday, November 4 at 12:15 pm in Bldg. 5-127. Questions? Contact Jennifer Glasgow,
jennlglasgow@gmail.com.
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New Church Directory coming soon...
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We are preparing the
2019 First Church Guidebook Directory. This non-pictorial directory is prepared and direct-mailed from the publisher to each First Church family. Now is a good time to go to
myFirstChurch and make sure your contact information is correct. If you have not yet logged in at
myFirst Church, now is the time! If you need assistance with
myFirst Church, please contact Tricia Gossett, tricia@fumc-rr.org.
This directory is provided at no cost to the church or members. It is subsidized through ads from local businesses. If you own or manage a business and would like to find out about advertising in our book, please
complete the form for potential advertisers on our website. You will be contacted by a representative from Guide Book Publishing with complete details. Other questions? Contact Betty Robertson, betty@fumc-rr.org by November 5.
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This week at First Church...
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Saturday, November 3
- 9:00 am - Scrub-a-dub Day
Sunday, November 4 - Crafters Holiday Extravaganza in Payne Cottage
- 8:40 am - Life Group - Be Awesome, Bldg. 4-2
- 8:30, 9:40 and 11 am - Worship services
- 11:00 am - LifeGroups, Bldg. 5-124, 148, & 222
- 11:00 am - Becoming a Girl of Grace, Bldg. 5-223/224
- 11:00 am - Kids for Christ Council, Bldg. 5-122
- 11:40 am - Alleluia Chorus Children's Choir rehearsal, Bldg. 5-234
- 12:15 pm - Mission Panama Information meeting, Bldg. 5-127
- 4:30 pm - Youth Choir rehearsal, South Suite
- 5:30 pm - Pastor’s Bible Study, Sanctuary Foyer
- 5:30 pm - Ignite Snack Supper, Payne Cottage/Bldg. 4
- 6:00 pm – Student led Ignite Worship, Bldg. 3/FLC
Monday, November 5
- 8:45 am – Ring of Joy, South Suite
- 1:30 pm - JOY Leadership meeting, Bldg. 5-124
- 3:45 pm – Kids of the Kingdom Chimes, Bldg. 3/FLC
- 6:00 pm - Board of Trustees meeting, Bldg. 5-124
- 7:00 pm - Boy Scout Troop #157, Bldg. 3/FLC
Tuesday, November 6
- 8:30 am - UMM Tuesday Breakfast group, Juárez Restaurant on South Mays
- 9:30 am - First Church Crafters, 115 Winsted
- 9:30 am -Women’s Bible Study, Bldg. 5-122
- 11:30 am - Women's Book Club, Bldg. 5-127
- 12:30 pm - Brown Bag Theologians, Bldg. 5-122
- 6:00 pm - Outreach Team, Bldg. 5-136
- 6:30 pm - Stephen Ministry Supervision, Bldg. 5-123,126, 127
- 7:00 pm - Military/First Responder Network, Bldg. 5-124
Wednesday, November 7
- 6:15 am - UMM Breakfast, fellowship, & devotional, FLC/Bldg.3
- 9:30 am - Women's Bible Study, Bldg. 5-232/234
- 5:00 pm – Revelation Ringers, FLC East Cry Room
- 6:00 pm - HeartSong Choir rehearsal, South Suite
- 6:30 pm - Women's Bible Study, Bldg. 5-232/234
- 6:30 pm - Jubilation Bells Rehearsal, North Suite
- 6:30 pm – MS Wildfire Bible Study, Bldg. 5-222
- 7:15 pm – Chancel Choir rehearsal, South Suite
- 8:00 pm – HS Wildfire Bible Study, Bldg. 5-223/224
Thursday, November 8
- 9:30 am - Heart to Heart Quilters, 115 Winsted
- 12 noon - Mom Life, Bldg. 5-122
- 7:00 pm - Council Oak Bell rehearsal, North Suite
Friday, November 9
- 8:30 am - Round Rock Helpers, Bldg. 4-2
- 9:30 am - MOM Weekly Gathering, Bldg. 5-232/234
- 8:00 pm - Narcotics Anonymous-Right Stuff, Bldg. 4
Saturday, November 10
- 9:00 am - Scrub-a-dub Day
- 7:00 pm - Round Rock Community Choir Hollywood Concert, Sanctuary
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Betty Robertson
Communication
First United Methodist Church Round Rock
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First United Methodist Church | Round Rock, TX
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