Weekly e-newsletter
Our Mission:
Grow
in God's grace.
Love
with all our heart.
Serve
with all our strength.
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Dear Friends in Christ,
OK. I admit it. I’m a history nerd. When I see a date on the calendar, the neurons start firing. Like today,
July 2,
for example:
244 years ago this very day the Second Continental Congress voted to declare their independence from George III and the British empire. Thomas Jefferson’s immortal lines would go on to be emblazed upon the American consciousness
, “that all men (and women) are created equal…”.
After that historic vote, John Adams wrote his wife Abigail something to the effect that July 2 would be celebrated across the continent for ages to come with bonfires, parades, fireworks and other festivities (McCullough, John Adams, p.130). Well, he was off by 2 days, but that’s pretty good for a guy from Massachusetts (JK, Bostonians!!).
157 years ago today, heroic federal troops held their ground at Gettysburg’s “Little Round Top” among other decisive encounters in a brutal war that ultimately preserved the Union and led to greater freedom for African Americans after centuries of bondage.
How about today?
How will our grandchildren and great-grandchildren look upon us in our historic times?
Many thoughts come to mind, but for one, I pray that in our day all Americans would embrace from the heart those immortal declaration words -
“All men (and women) are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Too, may more and more of us live into Dr. King’s Biblical vision of “
beloved community
” in our day.
Until Sunday, when this “beloved community” worships online and meets our new pastors and hears their stories (see bios below – Welcome Pastors Beth and Sumesh!), followed by holy communion.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Tom
P.S. The
Regathering task-force
continues to work hard toward the goal of safely and faithfully offering in-person worship (as soon as possible within the governor’s guidelines) as well as maintaining quality on-line worship. While the team closely and prayerfully monitors our current circumstances, we are reluctant to set a firm date for re-gathering. That said, we are diligently preparing so that we when we do re-gather in person, it will be a positive experience for all. Thank you in advance for your prayers and support and stay tuned for updates. We thank God for you all!
P.P.S. ZOOM Coffee with
Pastor Beth
and
Pastor Sumesh
next Wednesday, 10:30-11.(See link below under
Ongoing
.)
P. P. P.S. Yesterday marked 7 years of the Palmer family being in Coppell! We are SO grateful to be in ministry with you. Thank you, FUMC Church family!
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Join us for Online Worship
July 5
Holy Communion (see notes below)
Armor Up With Salvation
Ephesians 6:10-17 (CEB)
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We encourage you as an individual or a family unit to dialogue
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Click here
to watch the June 28 Traditional service or
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Holy Communion this Sunday
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Again this Sunday, July 5, we will be offering Holy Communion after each
online service
. Pastors Tom, Beth and Sumesh will consecrate the elements during worship, and then the prepacked bread and cup will be available following the services. Similar to Sunday June 7, we invite you to enter the east parking lot from Bethel School Road following the online traditional service at 10:15 am and following the online modern service at 11:45 am. (elements offered until 12:15 pm). Please read the guidelines and instructions below.
At the parking lot entrance, a volunteer will greet you and guide you in the process. There will be two lanes in which all traffic will go in the same direction (north).
- The closest lane to the Sanctuary will be for those who want to park in the north end of the parking lot (adjacent to the playground) to walk up to the covered east Sanctuary entrance and kneel and take communion as a family, or single person. Please wear a mask to and from the table and respect 6ft social distance applicable for all who do not reside with you.
- The furthest lane from the Sanctuary will be for those who want to drive through to pick up consecrated communion elements under the pop-up canopy and take them home.
- All vehicles will then exit from the northwest exit of the main sanctuary parking lot.
Note: If you would like to have the elements delivered to your house after the service, please reply
bfoster@fumccoppell.org
by 10:30 am Sunday.
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Welcome New Associate Pastors and Families!
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Rev. Sumesh Jacob
was born and raised in a Christian home in Kolkata, where the family was active in the Church of North India. At age 15 he received Christ as his personal Saviour and Lord through the ministry of Youth for Christ and became active as a volunteer in his local church. After College and a few years of work in the financial services sector, he followed God’s call to serve as a full-time pastor and attended Union Biblical Seminary in Pune, India, where he met his future wife and fellow seminarian, Joyce. After graduating from Union, Joyce and Sumesh were married in 2009 and ministered together in three congregations over the next 10 years. Each of these congregations were multicultural and English-speaking, and by God’s grace they were able to see their ministry grow in the lives of many people from different parts of India as well as from around the world. Their own family grew as well as Timothy was added to the Jacob’s team in 2010!
In response to a sense of calling to do pioneering work among the growing Indian-Asian community in the United States, the Jacob family moved to Dallas to pursue a ThM (Master of Theology) at SMU’s Perkins School of Theology where Sumesh studied the church and society context of ministry to the Indian-Asian Community in the North Texas area with the Gospel of Christ. After graduating from SMU, they were thankful that God led them to FUMC and the Coppell area and now they look forward to being used of God to share God’s love and to make disciples of Jesus by being a blessing to all people, both members of First Coppell and also those in it's neighborhood.
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Rev. Beth Kellner
was born and raised in Baltimore and received her BS in Business Management from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. She spent many years working in the corporate world, including operating her own business, until a growing sense of call to ordained ministry led her to vocational change and an MDiv (Master of Divinity) at Perkins School of Theology at SMU. She has called Texas home for the last 30 years and has been married to John Drummond for 14 years. During her years of ministry, Beth has served as Pastor at Lake Cities UMC, FUMC Kaufman, FUMC Archer City, and Friendship UMC in Sherman. At each of these churches Beth worked with the local community to integrate the church into the community and find new ways for the church to be in ministry with the community. She has also been active in the church-sponsored Scout organizations at these churches. Most recently she led her church in the midst of changes due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Beth is passionate about reaching people with the word of God. She continues to seek ways to empower people to share the word of God with others through their words and, more importantly, their actions. She looks forward to continuing her journey, and seeing where God will lead her next, in her new role at FUMC Coppell. In her free time, she enjoys reading, outdoor grilling, and gardening.
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You Can Greet Sumesh, Joyce, Timothy, Beth and John on Sunday, July 12 as we host a drive-through reception outside the Ministry Center, Noon-1pm.
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ZOOM Coffee with Pastor Beth and Pastor Sumesh
- Meeting ID: 859 9985 1651
- Password: 212017
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Children's Sunday School
Join Kathy Braem for a Zoom meeting at 12:45 pm July 5.
- Meeting ID: 717 3216 3477
- Password: 0FbhCf
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Upper Room
If you would like a copy of the July/August
Upper Room
, limited quantities are available in the Rosenburg Chapel.
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S
ermon Series: Everyday Heroes – begins July 12!
Most of us enjoy movies, particularly these days when it is hot outside and cool inside. Beginning July 12, we will be looking at “Everyday Heroes” from some recent and not-so-recent films, exploring how the Scriptures tie into major themes in ordinary, but heroic lives.
“Everyday Heroes”
will lead to meaningful faith-discussions in our families, learning groups and LIFE groups and hopefully inspire us to lean into God’s gift of courage and faithfulness today. We invite you to get out the popcorn and watch these movies prior to that particular Sunday. The following information is provided for your viewing information (accurate to our knowledge).
- JULY 12 - Aladdin (2019) - YouTube: $2.99 - Google Play Movies and TV: $2.99 - Amazon Prime Video: $2.99 - Vudu: $3.99 - Disney+: free with subscription
- JULY 19 -The Blind Side (2009) - YouTube: $3.99 - Google Play Movies and TV: $3.99 - Amazon Prime Video: $1.99 - Vudu: $3.99 - iTunes: $3.99
- JULY 26 - The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) - YouTube: $3.99 - Google Play Movies and TV: $3.99 - Amazon Prime Video: $2.99 - Vudu: $2.99 - iTunes: $3.99 - Netflix: free with subscription
- AUGUST 2 - Inside Out (2015) - YouTube: $2.99 - Google Play Movies and TV: $2.99 - Amazon Prime Video: $2.99 - Vudu: $3.99 - Disney+: free with subscription
NOTE: For families with young children, be aware that
The Pursuit of Happyness
(some language) and
The Blind Side
(one scene of gang violence) may need to be monitored. Vidangel
www.vidangel.com/
can be a useful resource (30 day free trial may be available).
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FUMC Smartt Hall
Wednesday, July 15
9 am to 3 pm
Donations are down.
Let's intentionally save lives together!
Don’t forget to save time by using RapidPass to complete your pre-donation questionnaire online before you come to your appointment (bring screen shot of bar code provided at the end of the questionnaire). More info:
redcrossblood.org/RapidPass
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Blood donations collected at your upcoming blood drive will be tested for COVID-19 antibodies.
The antibody test is authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and will indicate if the donor’s immune system has produced antibodies to the coronavirus, regardless of whether they developed symptoms.
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*Photo ID or Red Cross Donor Card required*
*All donors must wear a MASK or face covering during their donation*
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Learning Groups and Life Groups
During this time of social distancing and building closure, many of the groups are meeting by zoom, or outside at a place that can accommodate the social distancing in relationship to the size of the group. Knowing that some of you need the learning and/or the fellowship, We want to encourage you to find a group that will help you develop in your faith as a disciple of Christ. Please contact the following people:
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The goal of Student Ministries during this summer is to give your students the chance to get to come together to learn and have fun, but need your help. Students are asked to follow all rules put in place by Student Ministries so activities don't have to go back to all being online. Even though sports, scouts and camps are allowing students to come together and not always be socially distant, extra care must be taken as the church is called to do no harm.
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Sunday Morning
Learning groups will start at 10:30 and end at 11 in time for Modern Worship on FB Live. This week we will continue our study on the Holy Spirit!
Meeting ID: 818 9094 5724 Password: 0000
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Summer Schedule
Mission week has moved to July 23-25. We will get info about sign up and details to you next week!
Please note that everything is subject to change as COVID-19 keeps us on our toes. Safety of your students is incredibly important to us and we are always keeping our eyes on what's going on. All in person events will be outdoors, with students spaced 6 feet apart, masks now required until students are settled in one spot, with most of them having a zoom option for those students/parents who aren't ready to meet in person.
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We're having a
Family Zoom party this Sunday
from 5-6 and playing some Family Feud (We still need your answers for the survey part!
Go Here
to fill out the survey.
) Multiple prizes are up for grabs with the Grand Prize of a family BBQ dinner prepared by Jordan and Christy.
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July Mission of Month
July’s mission of the month is
Christian Community Action (CCA) Back to School Initiative
. This program
will give children backpacks, school supplies, 2 school outfits, and shoes. This year families will be served in the following schools: Lewisville ISD, Coppell ISD, Carrollton/Farmers Branch ISD (Denton County portion), Argyle ISD, Frisco ISD (Denton County portion), Lake Dallas ISD, Little Elm ISD, Northwest ISD (Denton County portion).
Please consider a financial contribution (
click here
to give online and select Mission of the Month for the fund,
make checks payable to FUMC with memo “CCA” or you can TEXT 2 GIVE. Text FUMCC to 73256. You will receive a link and simply follow the instructions.
)
We can make financial donations go much further purchasing the needed items. The program costs
$100 per student
and CCA’s goal is to serve
1,200 students
this fall. Help make this mission possible so that no child goes to school and not have the tools needed for a successful learning year!
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CCA Pantry
CCA continues to need the following items to restock their shelves. You can drop off items in the tan bin located in the hall by the Rosenburg Chapel entrance.
- canned meats (tuna, chicken, ham)
- oatmeal
- hamburger helper meal packets
- spaghettios with meat balls
- canned ravioli
You can drop off items in the tan bin located in the hall by the Rosenburg Chapel entrance.
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Sack Summer Hunger
Thank you so much for all of your support last Saturday! We picked up and delivered approximately 4 tons of food (whew!) and we could not have done it without all of our amazing volunteers.
If you would like to continue to help, we can still use a few volunteers to help unload the truck on Saturdays, July 11 - August 1.
We also have open slots for delivery teams starting on July 18.
Click here
to signup.
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Fellow Caregiving Heroes,...
get
social at a distance with us on Facebook
in the
Caregiving Heroes Coppell Facebook group
!! This is a closed Facebook group, which means that you'll need to request to join.
Caregivers are placed in strange predicaments right now, never before imagined. Heroes can be here to help.
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