This Sunday, February 3, 2019

Rev. Bud Reeves Offertory “An Offering” Eric Krigbaum, Soloist Nancy W. Vernon, Organist

Rev. Bud Reeves Offertory  “Let the Words of My Mouth” Communion Anthem  “Thou Art the Vine” Chancel Choir Gaye Mings, Chancel Choir Director Nancy W. Vernon, Organist

Rev. Dane Womack “O For a Thousand” “One Thing Remains” “Who You Say I Am” “How He Loves”

WAS THAT A YEAR THAT JUST FLEW BY?

Sometimes in January I get a chance to take a deep breath and reflect on the year past and see what God has been up to in our ministry. It always fills me with a sense of humility and gratitude, that God can take a person like me (or a people like us) and use us for the work of God’s Kingdom. I feel utterly thankful for all the blessings I experience--as a husband, father, pastor, and friend. This year didn’t really afford me the “post-holiday breather” like some years. We have had five funerals in January, two weddings, and our special Worship and Arts Weekend. It’s been a little busy! But as we prepared for our Leadership Orientation with the Administrative Board this weekend (already into February), I had to stop and reflect on how God has blessed us at FUMC Fort Smith this past year. We had a great year in 2018! You can look at the graphic to see some of the highlights by the numbers. We received 69 new members, 10 by profession of faith. We were engaged in mission at least 41 different ways. We ministered to a thousand children, youth and adults through our small-group ministries. We worshipped God together 230 times, increasing our average attendance weekly to 523. (We were one of the few churches in our district to have an increase.)  We had an exceptional year financially. Combining our ministry and mission expenditures of over $1.8 million and the amount we received in our capital campaign ($1.2 million of the $2.4 million pledged), we raised over $3 million for God’s Kingdom work at FUMC this year. That is an outstanding response of spiritual generosity! Of course, numbers don’t tell the whole story, by any means. There was only one Family Life Center renovation, but it was a big one! The numbers don’t count the experiences of God’s presence in worship, the “light bulbs” that came on when someone learned a new insight in Sunday School or a Bible study, the children and youth who came to love Jesus more, the adults who found strength and support in their church family, the hands that were held and the prayers that were prayed in the hospitals, care facilities, and homes throughout our community. Hardly a day goes by when we don’t hear about or experience the movement of God in our midst. So yeah, we’re busy. I don’t expect it will slow down, and I really hope it doesn’t--much, anyway. Because what I see happening is a church that is doing ministry, touching lives, making disciples of Jesus Christ, impacting the community for good, and giving the praise to God. That’s what we’re all about, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it!

Rev. Bud Reeves Senior Pastor breeves@fsfumc.org

UMW UNIT MEETING Feb. 20 at 9:15 am, Fireside Room

Denise Luft, Church Relations Coordinator will be here to fill us in on all the meaningful programs happening at Methodist Family Health, a mission of the Methodist Church in Arkansas since 1899.

NEWS FATIGUE

The tension between needing to stay informed and the overwhelming volume of stories, articles, and opinion pieces is exhausting. Through its work, the Pew Research Center learned that some seven out of ten adults report “news fatigue.” We are more informed than ever before and yet we are not necessarily more skilled at processing said information. Admittedly, I consume most of my news online. I read our local paper online and watch some of our local TV stations news stories on the web. I try to keep up with state news. I look over the New York Times and occasionally the Wall Street Journal. I greatly enjoy NPR news podcasts. And like many folks my age, I consume a great deal of news via Twitter. Which means I have a personalized, curated feed of articles and think pieces by people I choose to follow - colleagues, authors, thinkers, public officials, etc. We have the same sorts of feeds and cycles surrounding our denomination and its future. In the same way the New York Times has different reporting groups, journalists, editors, and bloggers, so does the United Methodist Church. And everyday we move closer to our special, called General Conference in Saint Louis (Feb. 23-26) more articles are available.  It is exhausting to keep up with the latest reports and most recent opinions pieces. Over the next few weeks, you will have plenty of opportunities to keep up with the news of our denomination. I want to invite you to read widely and quickly but also to feel free *not* to read every response or reflection - or the facebook comments. The division and polarity of our nation and world will play out in some sense across our denomination. This is already the case. And it wears me out to try and keep up with it all. Who said what? Who’s on what side? How’s it going to happen? When will we know? I, nor Rev. Bud, nor anyone, really, has the answers to those questions yet. I invite you to stay in the moment and keep plugged into our local church. Avoid the doomsday op-eds. And we will all work through this moment and the coming moments together. I am reminded of that poem by Bp. Oscar Romero which begins, “It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view. The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.” The news that is constantly before us rarely includes the perspective which is the long view. The long view demands patience and the humility required not to have an immediate opinion. I am reminding myself as much as you when I say this: I hope, together, we may take the long view for the sake of our church, our denomination, and our shared future in ministry.

Rev. Dane Womack Executive Associate Pastor dwomack@fsfumc.org

We mourn with: The family and friends of Goldia Shoffey. Funeral services are Thursday, January 31 at 11am in the Roebuck Chapel. The family and friends of Bob Lucy. Funeral services are Friday, Feb. 1 at 11am in the Roebuck Chapel.

WEEKLY CALENDAR

Sunday, February 3 8:30 am Roebuck Chapel Worship 8:45 am Holy Grounds, Narthex 9:30 am Prayer Ministry, Prayer Room 9:45 am Sunday School 11:00 am Sanctuary Worship 11:00 am Connexion Worship, Great Hall 4:00 pm Confirmation Class, M301 5:00 pm First Youth Super Bowl Party, Loft 5:00 pm Young-ish Adults Super Bowl Party, Keener’s Home   Monday, February 4 2:00 pm Staff Meeting, Conference Room 5:30 pm CEC Staff Training, Fireside Room 6:00 pm Women’s Bible Study, FLC115 6:30 pm Scouts, Room 300 7:00 pm Men’s Dart League, Loft   Wednesday, February 6 9:15 am Women’s Bible Study 10:00 am Prayer Group, Prayer Room, 2nd Floor 10:00 am Ladybells Practice 3:30 pm Children’s Choir 4:30 pm Early WNL Group, Conference Room 5:30 pm Holy Communion, Roebuck Chapel 5:45 pm Shared Dinner, Family Life Center 6:30 pm Wednesday Night Life Groups, Various Rooms 7:00 pm Chancel Choir Rehearsal   Thursday, February 7 7:00 am Youth Breakfast Club, Chick Fil-A 10:00 am Knitters & Knotters, Narthex   Saturday, February 9 2:00 pm Sara Bayles & Patrick Charlton Wedding, Sanctuary

FIRST KIDS HAPPENINGS Created By God

Created by God, a human sexuality study for 5 th and 6 th grade elementary children will begin February 10 th with a mandatory session for parents at 5:00PM, followed by three consecutive Sundays for the students, February 17 th and 24 th and March 3 rd from noon to 2:30PM. The study is biblically based and is led by Dr. Roland Vernon, Sally Ware, and Kelly DeSoto. The classes will focus on relationship-building skills as well as human growth, development and reproduction. The completed registration form and fee ($35) are due by Wednesday, February 6 th . Scholarships are available. Space is limited for this very important class; however, it is open to students who do not attend FSFUMC.    Contact Sally Ware at the church (782-5068) for further information.

SAVE THE DATE: ROAR VBS June 10th-14th

‌

FAITH MOMENTS

When we were growing up, Mom and Dad used to take us on a week’s vacation down to Ormond Beach, Florida. It was a major undertaking for our family of seven to get packed and ready for the trip. At that time, the expressways were limited (Wow, am I showing my age?) and we drove state roads and highways down there. We stayed at a cottage community called Elinor Village which was located across the street from the beach. During the week there, our cottage had two bedrooms, one bath, and a living room with a hide a bed sofa in it. We would also add a rollaway bed. All of us seem to fit into place nicely. We would get groceries for the week and always have breakfast there at our cottage as well as one other meal. We would go out to eat once a day there (either for lunch or for supper). It depended upon the day. Even though it has been many years, I can still sense the fresh ocean smells of the area. When we went to the beach, we were able to park on it unlike other beaches. Ormond Beach is not far from Daytona Beach. Both are known for having wide beaches. I also remember the waves of the ocean there and how big they were. We would jump the waves there. We would also have to be careful because the waves could easily knock us over. Yet, we had so much fun there. I have not been back to that area in years. I am sure that Elinor Village has been torn down and replaced by condominiums. I have seen pictures of the beach. It is still wide but the waves do not look as big as they were when I was child. They looked smaller now. The main reason that they looked that way because I was seeing them through the eyes of a child. As we grow up, we begin to look at life first as a child. As we continue to grow, we begin to then to look at life through the eyes of a youth. When we become adults, we look at life completely different from our childhood and youth. When we grow up spiritually, we will look at our faith in different ways. All of us are at different levels in our faith journey. Wherever we are in our life and faith journeys, God is here to love us, to guide us, and to sustain us.

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS January 2019

Doug and Lynn Nancarrow. Lynn is already a member; Doug joined by profession of faith. They are retired from academic administration and development.   Diana Mackey joined by transfer from another denomination. She works for Ruth Davis. Sarenity Mackey is an 8th grader at Ramsey Jr. High. Sarenity was baptized and joined by profession of faith.   John Garner is retired from the postal service. He transferred from another UMC.   Matthew Mock was baptized and joined by profession of faith. He is a student at UAFS. Jackie Cronkhite is an attorney. She transferred from another denomination.   Mosie Boyd is an attorney. She transferred from another denomination.   Guy Ann Glidewell transferred from another denomination.

VERITAS

With a quick Google search, I learned that veritas is a Latin word for “truth”. What a great way to describe the vision for our premier ACCYM event, Veritas. With that definition in mind, the truth is coming right around the corner! February 15-17. At Veritas, our students will have the opportunity to engage in passionate worship alongside hundreds of youth from around our state. We’ll also get to hear from Tim Palmer, a conference-favorite speaker who we’re familiar with from Assembly ‘17. There’s a side of entertainment of course, as the special guest this year is Taylor Mason. From what I understand, there is no way to describe what he does because combining ventriloquism, music, and comedy is unique to Taylor Mason and quite literally needs to be seen to be believed! Sounds exciting, right? Would you join with me in praying for a spiritual revival for our students at Veritas as we seek to experience the Truth? Good things are ahead for us at Veritas 2019!

YEAR-END FINANCIALS LOOK REALLY GOOD!

We ended the year of 2018 on solid financial footing at FUMC Fort Smith. All together, our ministry expenses totalled $1,823,998 for the year. We gave 10% tithe to the conference and a little more to the district shared ministries for a total of $196,752. Our income for the year was $1,827,658, which included $104,000 in ministry support from our FUMC Foundation. So we ended the year “in the black” by $3,660, but we did not decrease our reserves or our total bank balance relative to the first of the year. In our Faith Forward capital campaign, we received $2,405,406 in gifts and pledges for the three-year campaign. By December 31, we had received $1,249,603 (52%) of the total, which is an excellent response after only 7 months of the campaign. The Family Life Center renovation will total $1,450,000 and is now virtually complete. We were able to use reserve funds to pay for the shortfall in cash flow, which will be paid back as the campaign progresses. In other words, no money will be borrowed to pay for the renovation at all. The rest of the campaign, about $1 million, will enhance the endowment funds in our church Foundation. We are so grateful to the many generous contributors to our ministry and the capital campaign in 2018! “Well done, good and faithful servants!” (Matthew 25:21)

SCOUTS

February is a busy month for the Scouting Ministry at First UMC. The first weekend kicks off the Scouting for Food program. This Saturday the 2nd if you receive a bag on your porch, you are encouraged to fill it up with non-perishable goods. Scouts that left the bag will be back the next Saturday the 9th to pick it up. More info at www.westarkbsa.org . Also this Sunday the 3rd, collection bags will be available at the worship services. The Scouts at First UMC will be back on Scout Sunday, the 10th, to pick up your donations. The food collected at First UMC will be distributed to the Community Services Clearinghouse. Also on Sunday the 10 is Scout Sunday. All Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts are invited to wear their uniforms and participate in the services. Last year the BSA started accepting girls into the Cub Scout program. Starting this weekend, Feburary 1st, the older scout program, now known as Scouts BSA, will allow 11 to 17 year old girls to form their own troops. The Scouting Committee here at First UMC has found a Scoutmaster, Angela Bugeja, to lead a new girls troop. Also we have a new Scoutmaster for the boys program, Robert Reeves, and a new Cubmaster, Lyndsey Reeves.  The addition of girls participating in all BSA programs will allow for Family Camping opportunities. Both sisters and brothers, from Kindergarten through High School, along with their parents can participate. The Scouting Ministry at First UMC extends an open invitation to children and youth at First UMC to join in the adventure. Scouts meet at First UMC, 3rd floor, each Monday night starting at 6 pm. Contact us: leaders@westarktroop2.org OR 479.310.0322.

RECENT MEMORIALS

In Memory of:   ·  Natalie Taylor by Richard & Ann Appleton ·  David Smith by Aaron & Nell Barling ·  Boyd Saviers by Aaron & Nell Barling ·  Harry Shipley by Aaron & Nell Barling ·  Ernest Bartlett by Aaron & Nell Barling ·  Mazie Chesser by Aaron & Nell Barling, Betty Tucker ·  Rebecca Phillips by Bob & Janice Powell, Aaron & Nell Barling ·  Dr. Eldon Pence by Aaron & Nell Barling ·  T.G. Carroll by Chris & Barbara Jetton, Robert & Carolyn Fryar ·  Becky Phillips by Natalie Hiffmann, Tina Meek, Shirley White, Paul & Suzanne Henson, Lynn Creekmore, Thomas & Jane Foltz, Jack & Louanna Green, Charlie & Mary Beth Shea, Harry & Eleanor Foltz, Mike & June DeWitt, Chuck & Kathy Liggett, Jack & Joann Gedosh, Lauren Burke Arthur, Susan Burgess Bean, Melanie Fox, Robin Hinch, Howard & Pamela McMahon, Margaret Graham, Ruth Bartlett, Jamee Howe Wilson, Dawn Chinnery Lynn, Sherron Shuffield, Steve & Danita Rafferty, Larry & Sandra Clark, Carolyn Terry, Christopher & Lisa Meyers, William & Mary Cooper, Garland & Julia Thorn, Don Smith, Frances Wohlford

FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 200 N. 15TH ST.  FORT SMITH, AR 72901 (479)782-5068 | FSFUMC.ORG Pastor on Call (479)459-5060 Email: fsfumc@fsfumc.org Office Hours: Monday-Friday  8:30AM-12:30PM & 1:30PM-4:30PM   SUNDAY SERVICES 8:30 AM Roebuck Chapel 9:45 AM Sunday School for all ages 11:00 AM Sanctuary (Radio broadcast on 96.7 FM) 11:00 AM Connexion, Family Life Center-Great Hall   WEDNESDAY SERVICE 5:30 PM Holy Communion, Roebuck Chapel   Nursery is provided during worship services for birth thru Kindergarten age.

FIRST UNITED METHODIST NEWS published weekly except the last week of the year by First United Methodist Church 200 North 15th Street, Fort Smith, Arkansas 72901.  Contact Diane Wing about newsletter information and submissions: dwing@fsfumc.org

Visit our website

‌ ‌ ‌